Regular courts start functioning in merged districts

PESHAWAR: Regular courts started judicial work in the erstwhile Fata on Monday as around 15 fresh cases were filed only in the court of the senior civil judge of the Khyber district.

The first case was filed by a student, Nadir Ali, in the court of the senior civil judge, Zafarullah Khan, seeking college registration for his admission in the university.

The student filed the case through his lawyer Sajjad Hussain against the administration of Government Degree College Landikotal in Khyber District.

The court was established at the Federal Judicial Complex in Hayatabad, Peshawar.

The lawyer argued before the court that his client had applied for the college registration some four months ago and despite reminders, the registration was not issued to him.

He pointed out that if registration was not issued to the student, his one academic year would go waste.

After hearing the preliminary arguments, the court issued a notice to the principal of the college and sought reply in the case before the next hearing into the case on March 14.

The court also heard about 10 cases and issued notices to respondent parties in the civil suits filed by the people of Khyber district.

Meanwhile, the people of the Khyber district termed the functioning of regular courts a historic day.

“We would get justice like the other people in the country. I had been wandering here and there for the last four months for getting the registration of the college,” Nadir Ali told The News after hearing in his case at the court of the senior civil judge.

However, he asked the government to establish the courts in the tribal districts to facilitate the people.

“Today we have equal rights as the tribal people now have the right of appeal in the high court and Supreme Court after the abolition of the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation or FCR,” he said.

Expressing confidence in the regular courts, another litigant said that previously were even not allowed to enter the office of assistant political agent and political agent for weeks for registration of their cases and when the case was registered, the PA and APA made decisions on their own will.

He said that today they came and filed cases without any impediment, adding notices were issued to the parties.

An official of the Peshawar High Court confirmed that courts had resumed judicial work in the tribal districts and heard various cases directly filed by the people.

Muhammad Zubair, media protocol officer of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), told The News that currently arrangements had been made in the makeshift courts for the judges and litigants.

The temporary places for the judges to run the courts for the merged districts included Khyber at Federal Judicial Complex in Hayatabad, Bajaur at Timergara in Lower Dir, Kurram at Thall in Hangu district, South Waziristan at Tank, Orakzai at Hangu, Mohmand at Shabqadar and Charsadda and North Waziristan at Bannu.