FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) Reforms – Extension of Judiciary

The latest episode of Jarga Maraka (Debate and Council)  focused on the historic decision of extending court writs to FATA. Under this decision, the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court, have access to the tribal areas.

The guest of the show, advocate Ejaz Momand, was of the opinion that access to tribal areas can be considered a first step towards justice and equal citizenship. He said that the decision was a result of hardships and struggle with the support of different stakeholders.

Shah Jee Gul, Member of National Assembly (MNA), on live call during the show, added that extending writs to FATA will strengthen the long-awaited rule of law and provide the constitutional right of access to justice. He was hopeful that the exploitation and violation of human rights carried out by the traditional Jirga will be mitigated by limiting their involvement.

A caller from Mohmand agency said that the Jirga system has lost its credibility and contemporary investigations are needed for providing justice now.

A radio report was aired to share the responses from different tribal agencies.

A total of 17 calls and three messages were received during the program, seven calls were taken on air.

AboutSabawoon:
Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications program, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion.

The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 kHz from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM.

On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Simay Jaaj gives an overview of the top stories from KP and FATA regions. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance to, and significance for, youth, students and women. Socio-cultural affairs are discussed in Ranra on Thursday.

The primary objective of the show has been to underline the criticality of constitutionalism, fundamental rights, public accountability and the rule of law for countering extremism illegalities of all forms.