Notices issued to governor, AGP over FATA Tribunal

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court has issued notices to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor and Attorney General of Pakistan over a delay in FATA Tribunal appointments on Tuesday.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Irshad Qaiser issued the notices, asking the aforementioned to explain why the tribunal’s chairperson and members were not appointed in three months.

Overflowing dockets

The delay has caused the number of appeals pending to pile up with the tribal belt’s judicial authority.

During the course of the hearing, the court was informed by petitioner Muhammad Ismail’s counsel Riazatul Haq that his client hails from Mohmand Agency where he has a land dispute. He said the Frontier Crimes Regulation commissioner gave a verdict in the instant case which was challenged at the FATA Tribunal. Haq added since the tribunal became dysfunctional on January 26, scores of appeals have piled up.

“The tribespeople have no other forum to challenge the FCR commissioner’s decision other than the tribunal. In the absence of members, dozens of applicants await justice,” he said. Haq told the court the tribunal was itself set up under directives of former PHC chief justice and current Supreme Court judge Dost Muhammad Khan. Ismail’s counsel requested the court to order the appointments after which the bench served notices to the Governor and AGP, and asked them to submit written responses by the next hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2015.