PESHAWAR: Suspending the death sentence to seven tribesmen awarded by a\u00a0jirga\u00a0in the Frontier Region Kohat, the Peshawar High Court (PHC)\u00a0on Saturday observed that nobody had the right to deprive a person of life and liberty except in accordance with the law and constitution.
\nA two-member bench headed by Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth suspended the decision of the\u00a0jirga.The assistant political agent Frontier Region Kohat and Commissioner FCR Kohat had maintained the decision.
\nThe court directed the APA, and commissioner FCR Kohat and\u00a0jirga\u00a0members, including Malik Zar Khan, Malik Muhammad Naeem, Malik Javed Iqbal and the Fata Tribunal, to submit reply in the case and explain as why the death sentence was awarded to the tribesmen and under what authority.
\nDuring the course of hearing, lawyer Mohibullah Kakakhel submitted before the bench that the petition was a human rights case as the right of life was snatched from seven persons including Abdul Wahab, a resident of Qasimkhel village in Darra Adamkhel and his companions Malik Imran, Fazal Rahim, Nawab Khan, Gulbaz and others.
\nHe submitted that Abdul Wahab and six others were awarded death sentence by a\u00a0jirga\u00a0on December 16, 2015 in a murder case of one Shafiq.\u00a0The lawyer said that Shafiq was murdered outside Darra Adamkhel in a settled area and his murder case was being heard by the additional district and sessions judge in Kohat.
\nThe lawyer submitted that the\u00a0jirga\u00a0awarded death sentence to seven persons in violation of the law and constitution.\u00a0He informed that APA Frontier Region Kohat and Commissioner FCR Kohat had also confirmed this unlawful decision and rejected the applications of the convicts.
\n\u201cThough an accused cannot be handed down death penalty under the FCR, the APA FR Kohat and Commissioner FCR maintained the decision of the jirga,\u201d he pointed out. \u00a0The jirga in its verdict had also warned the local people not to attend the funeral prayer of the accused after their execution and their family members were told that they would not be allowed to bury them in Darra Adamkhel.
\nThe lawyer submitted that the family members of the slain person on November 12, 2016 had moved an application to APA FR Kohat, requesting for official guns and cartridges and a place where the convicts will be killed.
\nIn the application, they also requested the APA to nominate persons from the deceased\u2019s family for shooting dead the convicts.\u00a0It was stated in the petition that the proceedings of the jirga and its decisions were illegal, beyond their competence and against the constitution and law. It was stated that under the Supreme Court\u2019s decision and Constitution the tribesmen had fundamental rights.\u00a0It said that the impugned order of the jirga and then confirmation by the APA FR Kohat and Commissioner FCR Kohat were totally illegal and thus the high court had the jurisdiction to save the life of citizens of Pakistan.
\n\u201cA question of far-reaching human rights consequences is involved and this high court may show indulgence to do away with orders of the official respondents, wherein private persons have been let loose on someone for the purpose of killing,\u201d the petition noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR: Suspending the death sentence to seven tribesmen awarded by a\u00a0jirga\u00a0in the Frontier Region Kohat, the Peshawar High Court (PHC)\u00a0on Saturday observed that nobody had the right to deprive a person of life and liberty except in accordance with the law and constitution. A two-member bench headed by Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth suspended the decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n