SC seeks assistance on ex-FATA jurisdiction

The Supreme Court has directed Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan to assist it on the question of jurisdiction in some cases originating in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) before their merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

A division bench, headed by Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan and comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, was hearing a case involving a 14-year prison sentence imposed on an accused charged with providing shelter to terrorists.

The court also directed K-P state counsel Arshad Hussain Yousafzai and the petitioner's counsel, Mehnaz Advocate, to assist it on the legal questions involved.

During the hearing, Justice Khan observed that the case related to a period before the merger of Fata with K-P. The Peshawar High Court had previously held that it lacked jurisdiction and had referred the matter back, the judge noted.

The state counsel informed the bench that the matter involved a 2016 decision, while a three-member PHC bench had delivered another relevant judgment in 2024.