(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken up the row over extending superior court jurisdiction to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), official court sources confirmed here yesterday.
Seven month earlier in April 2014, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had recommended that lawmakers introduce necessary amendments in the Constitution to give tribal people greater access to justice.
The tribal areas are governed by the colonial British ruler's Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), which denies many fundamental rights to tribesmen. The federation has moved the Supreme Court against PHC recommendation contending that "the high court cannot issue specific directives to parliament."
The apex court has sought legal assistance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Latif Yousafzai over the extension of the jurisdiction of superior courts in Fata after making suitable amendments in the Constitution.
The three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief justice Nasirul Mulk took up on Friday the appeal of the federal government against the PHC's April 7 verdict on court jurisdiction in the tribal areas.
The high court had observed that denial of fundamental rights of tribesmen, which were available to other citizens, had caused the tribal areas to become the most dangerous region.
A five-member bench headed by the then PHC chief justice Mian Fasihul Mulk on April 7, had recommended the parliament to amend Article 247 (7) of the Constitution with regard to extending the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and high court in Fata.
The Article 247(7) reads: "neither the Supreme Court nor a high court shall exercise any jurisdiction under the Constitution in relation to a tribal area, unless Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) by law otherwise provides."
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