Appellate Court: tribal society hails passage of bill to extend jurisdiction to Fata

All segments of tribal society welcomed the bill passed by the National Assembly on Friday according to which jurisdiction of Appellate Court was extended to Federally Administer Tribal Areas (FATA). Jamaat-e-Islami, Naib Ameer FATA Zarnoor Afridi said that from day one they were striving hard to win all basic right for the tribesmen and the extension of jurisdiction of Appellate Court to the tribal belt although was only partly acceptance of the list of reforms, they demanded including merging of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, allocation of share in NFC for FATA, conducting of local bodies election etc.
But, they said the latest initiative of the incumbent government would prove first drop of rain and hoped that the draconian law, Frontier Crime Regulation(FCR) would be buried for once and all and the tribal would like citizens of other part of the country enjoy all fundamental rights. "We will not give up until and unless, the tribesmen get all their rights and the extension of Supreme Court and High Court to the tribal provide us an opportunity to knock every door in this regard to obtain rights for the tribal," Afridi remarked. He asked for setting up huge sum of development package for rehabilitation of the tribesmen. President FATA Lawyers Forum President Rahim Shah called it big achievements for the tribesmen and said it would eliminate century old brutal law and replaced it with modern judicial system. "There will be constitutional supreme in the FATA, and the tribesmen won the status by rendering matchless sacrifices", Shah argued.
Prior no formal law was prevailed the tribal belt and the case was decided on disposed of single political administration official who assumed both executive and judicial powers he said and adding in the new judicial system fair trial would be conducted, no one would be above the law everyone would get justice ", Shah argued. Said Afzal Shinwari a social activist welcomed the fresh development and declared it a mile stone in changing of the fate of the tribal. He said that since creation of Pakistan tribesmen had been deprived of all universal rights and the decision of lengthening of Appellate Court powers to the tribal belt would bestow basic rights on the tribesmen. He maintained that it was the long lasting demand of the dwellers of the tribal belt that had been addressed and certainly the first step to include the FATA in the mainstream. He suggested implementation of full-fledged judiciary system in FATA and rejected imposition an alternate system in shape of Rewaj Act that was adverse to the universal justice system.