K-P govt given one month to resolve land dispute

Kuki Khel tribesmen say their land has been occupied unlawfully.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the chief secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to hold negotiations and resolve the longstanding land dispute of Regi Model Town between Kuki Khel tribesmen and the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) within a month.

The argument emerged when the PDA announced the Regi Lalma Township project in the area which Kuki Khel tribesmen claim is disputed territory. The tribesmen also demanded that construction be stopped immediately.

Tribesmen have accused the PDA of starting construction work and ignoring the Mefi Griffith Accord, 1912 which they say indicates the settled and tribal areas. The issue was later taken up by the PHC which ordered the formation of a commission for demarcating tribal and settled areas.

During the hearing on Thursday, Peshawar District Coordination Officer Javed Marwat presented the commission’s report and said it had examined the demarcation according to the Mefi Griffith Accord.



However, while Marwat told the division bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth that the commission has demarcated the two areas, Kuki Khel tribesmen alleged the line had been drawn inside tribal territory and that PDA had unlawfully occupied their land.

Counsel for the Kuki Khel tribesmen, Abdul Latif Afridi said he has been requested by the chief secretary to intervene and resolve the issue. He assured the court the dispute would be resolved in the near future. Afridi added the tribesmen had agreed to negotiations and that the development project would be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

The bench later ordered that a report be submitted to court before the next hearing scheduled for January 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2012.