Swatis rejoice as Darul Qaza hears first case

HC bench to have seven Malakand districts under its constituency.

SWAT:

After much deliberation, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Afzal pronounced the Darul Qaza, a high court bench, fully functional after hearing cases on Tuesday at Fiza Gut, Mingora, Swat. The establishment means that many cases of the Peshawar High Court will now be shifted to Darul Qaza which has jurisdiction over seven districts of the Malakand division.

Darul Qaza was approved in April 2009 by a special amendment to the constitution by the parliament which was passed unanimously. It was inaugurated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti on January 18. But due to unavailability of judges, the court remained nonfunctional. This triggered uproar among the lawyer community who in agitation boycotted courts for 33 days, demanding timely appointment of judges for the bench’s full functionality.

Justice Shahjehan Khan on Tuesday marked the commencement by hearing cases. The development was received with jubilation and Swat Bar Association President Asghar Khan told The Express Tribune, “We congratulate the people of Malakand. The chapter of troubles and miseries of our people came to an end today.”

Lawyer Qawi Khan said, “It will certainly reduce the high expenses of our clients and the troubles which we faced going to Peshawar for hearing of cases. It will not only save time of lawyers but also save money of poor clients.”

“Reaching Peshawar immediately was not possible because a client would often face financial problems but now people can get justice at their doorstep,” asserted another lawyer Abdul Wadood.

Mohammad Idrees, of district Shangla, who came to Darul Qaza for a hearing, told The Express Tribune, “We are grateful to the government. I hope to get speedy justice here.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2011.