New DC powers questioned

Khyber District and Sessions Judge Hidayatullah Khan has sent a letter to the District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber in which he clarified that after the merger of erstwhile FATA, including district Khyber, into the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) the powers of Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedures, 1898 lies with the court of sessions only.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) cabinet has already approved deputy commissioners of the seven tribal districts to work as Justice of Peace under Section 22, empowering them to exercise certain policing and judicial powers in their respective districts.

The letter was sent to DPO Khyber on March 21 and it says that Section 22-A confers jurisdiction upon Justice of Peace and Section 25 defines ‘District and Session Judges’ of the area as ex-officio ‘Justice of Peace’ in explicit terms and is implemented in true sense in District Khyber.

The letter further adds that the above jurisdiction is being exercised by the Courts of Session in district Khyber, the exercise of similar jurisdiction by any executive authority would be ‘Coram Nan Jusice and Void ab-initio’

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The K-P government on March 14, 2022 appointed the deputy commissioners (DC) of seven newly merged districts (NMD) as justice of peace under Section 22 and a formal notification was issued by the Home and Tribal Affairs Department.

As per the notification the decision was taken in view of the problems faced by the public in adapting to the recently introduced police system, especially with regards to registration of FIR, attestation of documents and personal identification for legal purposes.

The DCs empowered under the new system will also assist the police and courts in matters of arrests in cognizable offences. The DCs will now be legally responsible for prevention of any breach of peace or disruption of public tranquility in the merged districts.

The district administration and police in merged districts have been directed to organize awareness sessions with the public and also hold darbars of the police force for its awareness and compliance.

The provincial cabinet has already approved the policing powers for the DCs in the newly merged district of the province in its 66th meeting.

Conferring certain policing and judicial powers upon DCs invited resentment from police as on March 13 police force in North Waziristan tribal district announced a boycott from duty against the decision to give magisterial powers to the DCs.

They blamed that police had been removed from check posts and muharers had been deployed there which was not acceptable.

Addressing a press conference in Miranshah Press Club DSP Syed Jalal said that they will not register any FIR and will also boycott polio security duty as a protest measure.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2022.