PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has established the courts of civil judges in Landi Kotal and Bara tehsils of Khyber tribal district declaring it a step towards the provision of justice to the people of the erstwhile Fata.

In a statement, the high court’s registrar said a building had been identified in Jamrud sub-division for the shifting of the district headquarters to ‘improvise’ the existing infrastructure for the purpose of courts and work on it will be completed in two months.

“As soon as improvisation is complete, all courts of Khyber tribal district will start functioning within the district according to the longstanding desire of the people of the area,” he said.

The registrar said courts in North Waziristan tribal district were functional in the adjacent Bannu district and the government had earmarked the government girls college’s building for the establishment of district courts in Miramshah.

School, health buildings won’t be used as courts, says PHC registrar

He added that the high court had decided that neither an educational institution nor health facility would be used for courts.

The registrar said Miramshah had a tehsil building, which was fully equipped and functional.

He said in the current post-Frontier Crimes Regulation times, the district administration had no adjudicatory powers for full-fledged tehsil courts due to settlement issue.

The registrar said the high court had sought the allotment of the tehsil building insisting if the district administration provided that building along with residences and ensured the security of judicial officers, then the courts would be shifted there without delay.

He said the judiciary in South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal districts was functioning in Tank and Hangu respectively alongside the district administration.

The registrar, however, said two courts were being established in Kalaya tehsil of Orakzai tribal district, while the district judiciary of South Waziristan still awaited the district administration and police department to move first to ensure security and all other allied services before the shifting of courts.

He said the high court being cognisant of its obligation from the outset made persistent efforts to ensure that the territories merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are brought to the mainstream justice system.

The registrar said the home department notified the place of sitting for the district judiciary in the adjoining districts and it began functional on March 11, 2019.

He said judicial officers were posted, while the recruitment of paralegal staff began immediately that had largely been concluded.

The registrar said though the courts started functioning with makeshift arrangements, the degree with which the quantum of institution of cases was increasing correlated with the trust reposed by the downtrodden people of those districts in the current system of adjudication.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2021