PESHAWAR: Nearly 6,000 cases have been successfully resolved through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Dispute Resolution Councils (DRCs) in the last six months, including many years-long disputes, KP police said.
According to data shared by KP police, 5,753 cases have been resolved through DRCs, out of which 5,404 cases reached a compromise, while 313 cases were referred to other relevant forums.
Of the total number of cases, 855 were settled in Peshawar, 896 in Nowshehra, 735 in Swabi, 227 in Mardan, and 1,310 in Charsadda.
Established in 2014, DRCs are the brainchild of KP's Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nasir Khan Durrani. They were constituted to dispense speedy justice to the masses. Soon after, however, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stopped DRCs from functioning due to lack of legal cover.
In August 2014, the KP Assembly passed an amendment to the police order giving legal cover to DRCs and the PHC allowed DRCs to resume functions in KP.
"Dispute Resolution Councils are powerful jirgas with the input of impartial and influential members of the community and have the complete backing of police," Durrani explained to Dawn.
"People are tired of the thana and kutchehry system."
The IGP said the system has been so successful in the province that people now prefer to take their cases to the councils, where they reach resolution within two to three hearings.
"Presently there is one council in every district, but we will extend it to every police station of the province."