PHC orders govt to notify judicial forums under repealed FCR.

PESHAWAR -- The Peshawar High Court has ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to notify two defunct judicial forums under the repealed Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) including Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Tribunal and commissioner FCR for hearing cases originated under the regulation before its abolition.

The court directed the government to reconstitute the defunct three-member Fata Tribunal for hearing cases, including the case of Dr Shakil Afridi, pending with it when it became non-functional in 2018.

A full bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak, Justice Syed M Attique Shah and Justice Syed Arshad Ali directed that the tribunal would also hear other cases, which would arise out of appeals pending with the commissioner FCR.

The bench ruled that notwithstanding the repealing of the FCR and omission of Article 247 of the Constitution, under which former tribal areas were assigned special status, the legal proceedings started under FCR would continue through the legal dispensation provided under it except the proceedings of a jirga/council of elders in the same mode and manner as provided under the repealed FCR.

The bench made the decision while disposing of around 110 cases of different nature, which had originated under FCR before its repealing in May 2018 and had subsequently reached the high court.

The bench has released a 22-page detailed judgment in these cases, which were heard few weeks ago. It has issued directives about different categories of cases, related to former FCR.

Full bench also directs reconstitution of Fata Tribunal to hear pending cases including that of Dr Shakil Afridi

The court also ordered that a criminal appeal, which was pending before the commissioner FCR in Kohat division, should also be transferred to the commissioner Kohat division for adjudication under FCR and in that regard the provincial government should also notify the office of the commissioner under the relevant provision of FCR.

About 90 state appeals, which were filed against acquittal of accused persons by the regular courts in cases initiated under FCR, the court ordered that those should be placed before the respective benches for determination on merit.

It was ordered that that if deemed necessary, the respective bench might refer a case to the district public prosecutor of the respective merged district, who will thoroughly examine the record and might refer the case for reinvestigation to the relevant police station with...