Officials asked to resolve issues through DCRs

MANSEHRA: Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Hazara range, Mirvais Niaz has asked officials not to allow traditional jirgas to resolve disputes as he said such forums are mostly biased.

“We have been empowering the dispute resolution councils, constituted under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly legislation in 2014, to settle issues out of court,” he said while speaking at a gathering attended by the chairmen and members of the DRCs of Mansehra, Oghi and Shinkiari here on Friday.

He said that since the constitution of the DRCs in Hazara division, the burden of cases on the courts had significantly reduced and victims and the affected parties were being dispensed with speedy justice.

He also lauded the role of District Police Officer Asif Bahadur for launching the victim support programme unit to rehabilitate the traumatised and sexually assaulted children and women.

“The sexual assault victims mostly suffer the trauma and launching of such a programme for them through a medical team is a good initiative,” said Niaz. The DIG also announced a vehicle for the victim support programme to even extend the psychotherapy services to traumatised women and children at their doorstep.

Speaking on occasion, DPO Asif Bahadur and chairman DRC Sheraz Mehmood Qureshi said that most of the 3,500 cases had been settled.