PPP leader Babar Awan seeks extension of court’s jurisdiction to FATA

Says govt a silent spectator even though drone attacks have been termed ‘war crimes’.

PESHAWAR: Senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Babar Awan on Tuesday said the government should introduce the 21st amendment in the Constitution to bring the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) within the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

Talking to journalists at the PHC premises, Awan said a separate services tribunal should be set up for the employees from the tribal areas so that their grievances may be easily addressed. He added the PHC should hear appeals against any decision of the federal and provincial services tribunals.

Awan said though drone strikes have been termed ‘war crimes’ committed by the US, the government still seems to be a silent spectator. “People have voted for these politicians to bring change, but the drone attacks have still not been stopped,” he stressed.



“The government decided to hold talks with militants in the recent all-parties conference. However, two months have passed, but the process has not yet started. [The militants] said the process was handed over to the media, which is not acceptable [to them].”

Awan added petroleum prices are decreasing in the international market, but the government is still increasing them every month. As a result, the public is not getting any relief from soaring inflation, he said.

Meanwhile, the PHC gave a ‘last chance’ to the additional attorney general to submit comments in a million-rupee embezzlement case involving Allauddin, former chief engineer of the public health department. The court warned it will give its decision by the next hearing without hearing the other side of the argument if the comments are not submitted till then.

Representing the petitioner, Babar Awan told a two-member bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Qaiser Rashid the court had summoned the attorney general of Pakistan and prosecutor general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) because it had earlier declared all references drawn up by former NAB chairman ‘illegal.’ Hence, this reference should also be deemed illegal, argued Awan.

NAB Deputy Prosecutor Muhammad Jamil informed the court the prosecutor general was engaged in some other cases, but that he would appear before the court. The court then ordered it was giving a final chance to submit comments from the office of the attorney general by the next hearing on November 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2013.