Regular courts starts functioning in merged districts from today

PESHAWAR: The regular courts will start working in erstwhile Fata from today after the abolition of the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

Muhammad Zubair, media protocol officer of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), on Sunday confirmed to The News that the regular courts would start functioning in the merged districts from today.

He said cases had been distributed among the courts and the judges had taken charge.

He said that arrangements have 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.

The official said that the 28 judicial officers posted to the tribal districts would start hearing the cases.

The official said the judicial officers had attended special training at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy to become conversant with the peculiar customs and “riwaj” of these districts to decide the cases as per “riwaj” during the transition period.

On March 2, the PHC conducted an orientation session for the judicial officers posted to the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A few days ago, the PHC Registrar Khwaja Wajihuddin said that three-pronged strategy had been devised as immediate intervention by ensuring makeshift arrangements for courts in the adjoining districts.

As per the policy statement, he said the officers shall have the place of sitting in the adjoining districts till the time the provincial government provided requisite facilities in the merged districts.

The makeshift arrangements, he said, shall be for a maximum period of five to six months.

He said that in the first leg, there was one district and sessions judge, two additional district and sessions judges and one senior civil judge for each tribal district.

In due course, he added, the civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates shall be transferred to each district. He said that a requisition has also been sent to the Provincial Public Service Commission, KP for recruitment of 24 civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates.