Swat lawyers give deadline for Shariah laws

SWAT: The local lawyers’ body has given the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government until September 1 to implement the Nizam-e-Adl regulation in Malakand Division or else it will go on strike from September 1.

“President Asif Ali Zardari has already signed the Nizam-e-Adal regulation into law after it was passed by parliament. The system envisages establishment of Shariah courts in Malakand, the federal government had promised to establish “Daarul Qaza” (Qazi court) but the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is reluctant to go ahead,” Fazal Ghafoor, president of the Swat Bar Associationsaid in Mingora.

“We had called off our strike after the provincial government promised to set up Daarul Qaza, but now the government appears to be reluctant.”

He set the Sept 1 deadline for the government to establish “Daarul Qaza” in Malakand otherwise the lawyers will go on strike. “Though the Shariah regulations are not Islamic laws per se, we want their implementation in Malakand for quick dispensation of justice.”

Criticising the elected bodies of Swat, he said they did nothing for the region. “They are organising musical shows...instead of thanking God for restoring peace,” Ghafoor said. According to him, the flood disaster was a “divine chastisement.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2010.