PHC transfers, posts 28 judges to merged districts

PESHAWAR: Regular courts will start working soon in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) after the abolishment of colonial British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation 1901 as the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday transferred and posted 28 judges in the merged tribal districts.

Registrar of the Peshawar High Court, Khawaja Wajihud Din, said on Monday that PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and the administrative committee had posted 28 judicial officers in the merged districts.

He said seven District and Sessions Judges were posted in the merged districts. They included Shahid Khan who was posted to Khyber district, Nasrullah Khan Gandapur to Bajaur, Salah-ud-Din to Kurram, Kalim Arshad Khan to South Waziristan, Asghar Shah to Orakzai, Asad Hameed Khan to Mohmand, and Mumrez Khan Khalil was posted to North Waziristan district.

The PHC transferred and posted 14 Additional District and Sessions Judges to the tribal districts. They included Shaukat Ahmad Khan who was posted to South Waziristan, Ihteshamul Haq Danishmand to Kurram, Rashidullah Kundi to North Waziristan, Jamal Shah Mahsood, to Orakzai, Shaukat Ali to Orakzai, Wali Muhammad Khan to Mohmand, Mian Zahidullah Jan to Bajaur, Sultan Hussain to Kurram, Dr. Qazi Attaullah to Bajaur, Mohib Jan to Mohmand, Asif Rashid to Khyber, Fida Muhammad to South Waziristan, Muhammad Jameel to North Waziristan and Jamal Shah Mehsood to Orakzai district.

The registrar said seven Senior Civil Judges were transferred and posted to the merged districts. Zafarullah, Senior Civil Judge (Admin) was sent to Khyber, Asadullah, Senior Civil Judge (Judicial) to South Waziristan, Ubaidullah, Senior Civil Judge (Judicial) to Mohmand, Muhammad Ayaz, senior civil judge to Orakzai, Abdul Hassan Mohmand, Senior Civil Judge to North Waziristan, Issa Khan, Senior Civil Judge to Kurram and Iftikhar Ahmad, senior civil judge to Bajaur district.

The registrar said that the Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth had directed the judicial officers to forthwith ensure that district judiciary starts functioning in those newly merged districts at the earliest.

He said that temporary place of sitting for the judges to run the courts for the merged districts included Khyber at Federal Judicial Complex, Hayatabad, Bajaur at Timergara, Dir Lower, Kurram at Thall and Hangu, South Waziristan at Tank, Orakzai at Hangu, Mohmand at Shabqadar and Charsadda and North Waziristan at Bannu.

Acting on this directive, he said, just recently sizable promotions were made by the administration committee of this court. Today, he said, the judicial officers were posted to the districts.

As per a policy statement, he said, these officers shall have the place of sitting in the adjoining districts till the time the provincial government provide requisite facilities at those districts.These makeshift arrangements, he said, shall be for a maximum period of five to six months and hopefully, there would be a swift transition to the newly merged districts.

In the first leg, for each newly merged district, there is one District & Sessions Judge, 2 additional district and sessions judges and one senior civil judge has been posted. In due course, he said the civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates shall be transferred to each district.

He said that a requisition has also been sent to the Provincial Public Service Commission, KP for recruitment of 24 civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates on urgent basis for the merged districts.

“These posted officers have been directed to relinquish the charge of their present posts,” the registrar added. The Peshawar High Court in coordination with KP Judicial Academy is working on war footing to devise a training course for these judicial officers to make them conversant with the customs and traditions of these districts.

Khawaja Wajih-ud-Din further disclosed that there are 907 posts of the support staff of these districts. The process of recruitment shall start immediately. As per rules the recruitment of the support staff shall be carried out strictly on merit and from amongst the bona fide domiciled residents of these newly merged districts. The Peshawar High Court, he said, has also shared with the provincial government the budget estimates for the district judiciary of these newly merged districts.