PESHAWAR: In a historical development, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) for the first time on Monday posted 28 judicial officers to seven newly merged tribal districts, paving the way for the functioning of regular courts in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth directed these judicial officers to relinquish the charge of their present posts with immediate effect and minimise the joining time so as to ensure that the vacuum situation prevailing at the merged tribal districts ends at the earliest.

The posted officers include seven district and sessions judges (DSJ), 14 additional district and sessions judges (ADSJ) and seven senior civil judges.

Three separate orders were released in this regard by PHC’s Registrar Khwaja Wajihuddin regarding postings and transfers of judicial officers, including those posted in the merged tribal districts.

Regular courts to function in erstwhile Fata for first time

The posted DSJs in tribal districts are: Shahid Khan at Khyber tribal district, Nasrullah Khan Gandapur at Bajaur, Salah Uddin at Kurram, Kalim Arshad Khan at South Waziristan, Asghar Shah at Orakzai, Asad Hameed Khan at Mohmand and Mumrez Khan Khalil at North Waziristan.

Two each ADSJs have now been posted in each of the tribal districts. These judges are: Ali Gohar and Asif Rasheed at Khyber, Ihteshamul Haq and Sultan Hussain at Kurram, Shaukat Ahmad and Fida Mohammad at South Waziristan, Rashidullah Kundi and Mohammad Jameel at North Waziristan, Jamal Shah Mehsud and Shaukat Ali at Orakzai, Wali Mohammad and Mohib Jan at Mohmand and Mian Zahidullah Jan and Dr Qazi Attaullah at Bajaur.

Similarly, the seven posted senior civil judges are: Zafarullah at Khyber, Asadullah at South Waziristan, Ubaid­ullah at Mohmand, Mohammad Ayaz at Orakzai, Abdul Hassan Mohmand at North Waziristan, Issa Khan at Kurram and Iftikhar Ahmad at Bajaur.

As a stopgap arrangement these judicial officers will initially start functioning in the adjoining districts till the time the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government provides requisite facilities at the merged tribal districts.

The judicial officers for Khyber will initially function at federal Judicial Complex Hayatabad in Peshawar, officers of Bajaur will function at Timergara (Dir Lower), that of Kurram at Thall (Hangu district), of South Waziristan at Tank, those of Orakzai to function at Hangu, officers of Mohmand to work at Shabqadar (Charssada), and of North Waziristan at Bannu.

According to a press release of the high court, this makeshift arrangement would be for a maximum period of five to six months and hopefully there would be swift transition to the newly merged districts. In the first leg, for each tribal district a DSJ, two ADSJs and a SCJ have been posted. In due course civil judges cum judicial magistrates would also be transferred and posted there.

A requisition has been sent to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Provincial Public Service Commission for recruitment of 24 civil judges cum judicial magistrates on urgent basis.

Recently, the high court’s administrative committee has made several promotions of judicial officers so that regular courts shall start functioning in tribal districts at the earliest.

Traditions and riwaj

The PHC in coordination with the KP Judicial Academy is working on war footing to devise a training course for these judicial officers so as make them conversant with the peculiar traditions and riwaj of these districts.

Registrar Khwaja Wajihuddin stated that there are 907 posts of the support staff of these districts and their recruitments would start immediately. As per rules the recruitment of the support staff would be carried out strictly on merit and from amongst the bona fide domiciled residents of these newly merged districts.

The PHC has also shared with the provincial government the budget estimates for the judiciary of these newly merged districts and it is hoped that necessary fiscal support would be provided at the earliest.

In past, the administrative officers, including political agents and assistant political agents, were assigned judicial powers in the erstwhile Fata under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The FCR was abolished through the Fata Interim Governance Regulation (FIGR), 2018, in May 2018, but even under the new regulation judicial powers were assigned to administrative officers.

However, after the passage of the Constitution (25th Amendment) Act, 2018, the PHC declared as unconstitutional several provisions of the FIGR through which judicial powers were assigned to executive officers and council of elders. The high court had given one month to the provincial government for introducing regular judicial system in tribal districts.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Jan 16 while upholding the PHC’s verdict gave six months to the government for introduction of regular judicial system in the erstwhile Fata.

Last year, the high court had asked the provincial government to declare the said tribal districts as sessions divisions under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) so that regular courts could be extended there. Subsequently, the provincial government on Jan 29 issued the require notification and declared the tribal districts as sessions divisions under the CrPC.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2019