PESHAWAR, Feb 29: The non-extension of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, to the Provincially-Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) has created legal complications.

Jurists said that juvenile offenders in the Pata region could not be treated as such because of the law's non-presence there. The ordinance was promulgated on July 1, 2000.

Under Article 247 of the Constitution, a separate notification has to be issued by the president and the governor of the province for extending a law to the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Pata, respectively. The government has not yet issued the require notification.

It was learnt that in one of the cases, even the high court had to face complications as it had issued directives for conducting a trial of an offender under the JJSO whereas the ordinance was not extended there. Finally, the high court had to stay the said proceedings when it came to know about the non- extension of the law.

A student of 9th class, Zafar Ali, had killed a fellow student Amirzaib in April 2001. He was tried by the Swat district and sessions judge and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In Oct 2003, a two-member bench of the high court set aside his conviction and remanded the case for re-trial under the JJSO.

The state filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, stating that the law had not been extended to Pata. The complainant's party also approached the high court, stating that the zila qazi had been trying the offender under the JJSO, which was unconstitutional. On Feb 24, a two-member bench of the high stayed the proceedings till the final disposal of the appeal before the Supreme Court.

Under Section 12 of the ordinance, capital punishment could not be slapped on a juvenile offender. But because the law has not yet been extended to Pata region some of the offenders had been awarded death sentences.

A district and sessions judge on July 23, 2002, had sentenced two boys, Mohammad Rafique and Sohail Fida, to death in a murder case. Their appeal was transferred in April 2003 by the high court to the Federal Shariat Court. The Shariat court has yet to decide the appeal.