KHYBER AGENCY -  All segments of tribal society welcomed the bill passed by the National Assembly on Friday according to which the jurisdiction of Appellate Court was extended to Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

In a survey conducted by The Nation, Naib Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami, FATA Zarnoor Afridi said that from day one, they were striving hard to win all the basic right for the tribesmen and the extension of jurisdiction of Appellate Court to the tribal belt although was only partially acceptance of the list of reforms, they demanded inclusion of FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, allocation of share in NFC for FATA, conducting of local bodies election etc. But, the latest initiative of the incumbent government would prove the first drop of rain and hoped that the draconian law, Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) would be buried for once and all and the tribal would like citizens of other parts of the country to enjoy all fundamental rights. “We will not give up until and unless, the tribesmen get all their rights and the extension of Supreme Court and High Court to the tribal provide us an opportunity to knock every door in this regard to obtain rights for the tribal,” Afridi remarked. He asked for setting up a huge sum of development package for rehabilitation of the tribesmen.

President FATA Lawyers Forum, Rahim Shah called it a big achievement for the tribesmen and said it would eliminate century-old brutal law and which would be replaced with the modern judicial system.

“There will be constitutional supremacy in the FATA, and the tribesmen won the status by rendering matchless sacrifices”, Shah argued.

Said Afzal Shinwari, a social activist welcomed the fresh development and declared it a milestone in changing the fate of the tribal areas. He said that since the creation of Pakistan, tribesmen had been deprived of all universal rights and the decision of lengthening of Appellate Court powers to the tribal belt would bestow basic rights on the tribesmen.

He maintained that it was the longstanding demand of the dwellers of the tribal belt that had been addressed and certainly the first step to include the Fata in the mainstream.

He suggested the implementation of the full-fledged judiciary system in FATA and rejected imposition an alternate system in shape of Rewaj Act that was adverse to the universal justice system.