SWAT:
In a rare public appearance outside the Supreme Court, Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry visited several districts of Swat on Saturday and attended the oath-taking ceremony of the Mingora bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
After administering the oath to the newly-elected cabinet, the CJ addressed lawyers and said that every culprit (terrorist) involved in the Taliban occupation of Swat should be tried.
He said that before the Swat Valley was occupied by militants, justice was available to the people but then “unfortunately, the area was captured by certain forces who tried to impose their views on the traditionally open and accommodating society of this valley.”
Terrorism in Swat
Addressing the bar, newly elected president of the Mingora bench, Sher Mohammad Khan, also asked the CJ to take suo motu action against the “real culprits of the Swat mayhem”. In addition, he requested him to increase the number of judges in the Mingora bench, as a total of 4,012 cases are pending.
Nizam-e-Adl regulations
Referring to the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009, the CJ said that they are a combination of legal codes with Sharia law in accordance with the constitution, which make the Darul Qaza appellate courts. He added that the effectiveness of the system could be ascertained from the fact that in the recent past, a record number of cases had been decided in the Malakand division, especially in Mingora district.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2011.
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I may be wrong but justice was fast and available during the rule of the Wali of Swat. The state decided to get rid of a system that worked and installed a system that did not deliver. Result was frustration, then entered the extremists and the people turned to them as they promised speedy justice, their brand of justice. When the people have to suffer due to the bad policies of the state can you deny them the right of feeling frustrated and let down ? The situation is loaded with irony.