Shariah court becomes operational in Swat

Peshawar, Mar 18 (ANI): A Shariah court has started operating in Matta Tehsil of Swat Valley today.

A total of 24 cases were filed at the court out of which two were disposed today itself.

The very first case was filed by a driver in the court of Qazi Ali Khan in which the driver stated that he wanted patch up with the bereaved family of a man killed in an accident by his car.

The parents of the deceased, who were present in the court, pardoned the driver.

Earlier, Lawyers' associations had expressed serious concern over TNSM chief Sufi Mohammad's warning to the Swat lower judiciary against attending courts in the Valley.

The Swat District Bar Association (SDBA) and NWFP lawyer bodies said on Tuesday that the move would create a judicial crisis in the Malakand Division, the Daily Times reports.

SDBA President Aftab Alam said the Qazi (Sharia) courts were deciding cases only on simple applications and there were no proper proceedings of cases in these courts.

He urged the government either to immediately settle the issue with Sufi to allow the judicial system to function in Swat.

Swat-based high court lawyers said that Sufi was paralyzing judicial system in the region after Taliban caused havoc on the educational and police system.

Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) President Abdul Lateef Afridi said Sufi's warning to judicial officers had created an alarming situation in the Malakand Division.

Renowned constitutional expert Qazi Mohammad Anwar said that the law does not permit a person to stop the judicial system.

"It will be like the law of the jungle to establish own courts and stop judicial system. Sufi and his supporters have their writ in Swat and under the law of the jungle, those having power impose their decisions on others," he said. (ANI)