KHYBER
Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) a cheap process and a best alternative to resolve disputes at primary stage, applicants said. Sharing details DRC, Landi Kotal in-charge Islamuddin Shinwari said that it takes a maximum of four months to solve a dispute after submitting an application without any fee.
Six panels, comprising five to seven of the DRC members have been formulated who deal with the specific case on their respective day without charging a single penny. Since January 16, 2024, so far 149 applications, including land, monetary and domestic disputes have been filed and out of it 32 disputes have been solved while 65 cases have been closed due to legal action in the Courts, Shinwari added.
He maintained that they registered only the cases they address in the DRC center and all data are publicized on their online page to exhibit their efficiency to their highups.
An applicant, Muhammad Zameer Afridi, resident of Wali Khel village of Landi Kotal said that he had a land dispute with his cousin, Shah Muhammad etc. He lodged an application in DRC that after necessary process with approval of both the parties; the case was handed over to a panel of jirga members who in a short period decided the case on merit.
The decision of the panel was implemented and the plaintiff and defendant were satisfied with the verdict of the DRC.
Appreciating the speedy and merit based system of DRC, Afridi said that it was the best alternative to get cheap justice.
Haji Hakeem Khan, an elder and member of DRC, valued the DRC procedure and said it was a suitable system to provide free of cost justice to the applicants, if implemented in original form.
Majority of the tribesmen were serving their lives under the poverty line, therefore they could not bear expenses of the Court, he added and said DRC was the only option to provide free of cost justice to them.
However he expressed reservation on recommendation culture in some of DRC decisions and cases usually dealt by the non-members outside the center in the name of DRC.
