News
Friday, May 09, 2008
Revised draft of Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2008 sent to president : Caretaker govt’s proposal of repealing superior courts’ jurisdiction reversed
By Akhtar Amin
PESHAWAR: NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani has sent a revised draft of the Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2008 to President Pervez Musharraf for approval, reversing the caretaker government’s proposal on repealing the jurisdiction of the superior courts (Supreme Court of Pakistan and Peshawar High Court) in the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas The draft was forwarded to the president through SAFRON and the president was likely to approve the draft within two weeks, sources privy to the Law Department told Daily Times. The provincial government approved the regulation after making 25 to 30 changes to the draft sent to the president by the caretaker NWFP government before the February 18 polls, the sources said. In the new draft, the decisions of Qazi courts can be challenged in the superior courts, and administrative powers rest with the provincial high court. The caretaker government had proposed that Qazi court decisions could only be challenged in the Federal Shariat Court. Under the revised regulation, Qazi courts will have to dispose of civil cases within six months, and criminal cases within 3 months; in the previous draft, civil cases were to be disposed of within 60 days and criminal cases within 30 days. The NWFP government decided to review the regulation a few days after the release of the Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad. NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah had said the decision was part of ongoing efforts to bring peace to Malakand and Swat, by fulfilling locals’ demands for the implementation of Shariah law. The federal government enforced the Shari Nizam-e-Adl Act 1999 and introduced Qazi courts in Malakand in 1999 to pacify conservative elements in the area after Sufi led a bloody unrest in 1994-95. Sufi’s son-in-law Mullah Fazlullah did the same the last year, taking up arms for the enforcement of Shariah law in the region. A week ago, Fazlullah-led militants set three pre-conditions for signing a peace agreement: Shariah law implementation in Malakand, an end to all cases against the Taliban and amnesty for the local Taliban.
Courtesy Daily Times