Peshawar to get two more DRCs for rural areas

PESHAWAR: The Dispute Resolution Councils (DRCs) in the provincial capital have decided 2710 cases during the last almost six years while 640 were sent for legal action and 415 cases are pending. The DRC was first set up in Gulbahar in January 2014 to settle petty disputes between two groups or individuals on the pattern of local jirgas. The bodies were later formed in all the districts while two more DRCs were set up in the provincial capital. All of these bodies, however, were set up in urban areas.

“We are going to set up two more DRCs in the Rural and Saddar divisions of the provincial capital. Besides, one DRC is being set up in Khyber district soon,” Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur told The News. He added that the bodies can play an important role in bringing an end to enmities.

Blood feuds and enmities in parts of the province claim hundreds of lives every year after jirgas of elders failed to settle disputes between the rivals. Some of the feuds that started over petty issues have been claiming lives for decades and there seems no end to it. In many such cases, one or both the parties have moved DRCs to resolve the issue between them before things get complicated. The forums, however, need to be further strengthened and made active to address a large number of disputes that can create law and order situation and claim lives. “The DRCs can play an important role in ending blood feuds. It has already played a key role by deciding hundreds of cases before it could take an ugly turn,” Zahoor Babar Afridi, Senior Superintendent of Police operations, told The News.

According to the official statistics, the three DRCs in Peshawar have received 6633 cases since January 2014 out of which 2710 were amicably resolved , 640 were forwarded for legal action, 2868 were filed or returned while 640 are still pending. “DRC in Gulbahar decided 19 cases while Gulberg DRC resolved eight disputes only during the month of December,” said Zahoor Afridi. He added the DRC in Gulbahar resolved 186 disputes, Gulberg decided 98 and Tatara DRC settled six cases during the last year.

“In total, DRC in Gulbahar has so far resolved 1817 disputes, Gulberg 844 and Tatara decided 49 cases,” said Afridi. The first such body was set up in Gulbahar police station in January 2014, in Gulberg in May 2013 while DRC was set up in Tatara Police Station in February 2017.

According to the record of the Central Police Office, 42 DRCs were set up across the province that have decided over 27366 cases during the last six years. The record says, 1146 cases are still pending while 5624 have been forwarded for legal action. The KP police have recently decided to extend DRCs to the merged districts where already jirga is an important forum that plays a key role in deciding most of the issues between people and tribes.

Work has already been started on the project with directives to the regional and district police officers concerned to complete the task within minimum time.