4,112 cases, appeals transferred to regular courts in merged districts

PESHAWAR: A total of 4,112 pending cases and appeals filed under the repealed Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in the former courts of political agents, FCR Commissioners and Fata Tribunal have been transferred to regular courts established in the erstwhile Fata and Peshawar High Court (PHC).

Releasing the cases data report pending in the former forums under the FCR, Khawaja Wajihuddin, registrar of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), said there were a total of 4,112 pending cases in the newly-merged districts, which have been transferred to the respective regular courts in these districts.

As per the record released by the high court, 71 appeals were transferred to the PHC, which were pending before the dysfunctional Fata Tribunal. He said 1,161 cases were transferred to courts in Khyber tribal district, out which 868 were civil matters, 156 criminal nature, 89 civil appeals, six criminal appeals and 41 narcotics cases.

Out of the 1,505 pending cases under the FCR, 645 were civil appeals, 763 criminal, 89 civil appeals and 8 criminal appeals.

As per the compiled data report, 266 pending cases were transferred to regular courts in Mohmand district, out of which 189 are civil cases, 33 are criminal cases, 40 civil appeals and five criminal appeals.

Similarly, 573 pending cases under the FCR were transferred to regular courts in Bajaur district, out which 386 were civil cases and 187 criminal. The high court transferred 106 pending cases to the Orakzai district, out of which 67 are civil cases, 22 criminal cases, 11 narcotics cases, 4 civil appeals and 2 criminal appeals.

Likewise, 146 pending cases under the FCR were transferred to regular courts in North Waziristan district, in which 64 are civil cases, 75 criminal cases, 6 civil appeals and one criminal appeal.

A total of 59 cases were transferred to South Waziristan district, out that 19 are civil cases, 39 criminal cases and one criminal appeal.

A total of 168 cases were transferred to the court in FR Kohat, out of which 103 are both criminal and civil cases, 63 civil appeals and 2 criminal appeals. Similarly, different kinds of 15 cases were transferred to the court in FR Dera Ismail Khan and 37 to the court in FR Peshawar. Khawaja Wajihuddin said that a total of 412 cases have been instituted in courts of all newly-merged districts in 10 days after its establishment, which reflects the trust of people in the judicial system in the erstwhile Fata.

He said the PHC in respect of newly-merged districts, had timely informed the provincial government about the human resource, financial and logistic requirements to make courts functional within these merged districts as par aspiration and demand of the local population.

The registrar said three-dimensional strategy had been chalked out for the merged districts — immediate intervention, mid-term action plan and long-term plan.