Terming the law recently promulgated in the Tribal Areas as illegal, unlawful and inhuman, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Thursday challenged the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation’. The regulation was promulgated by President Asif Ali Zardari in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and PATA (Provincially Administered Tribal Areas).
The was petition filed by JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Senator Prof Ibrahim Khan in the Supreme Court Peshawar Registry, through a renowned lawyer Ghulam Nabi Advocate under article 184(3) of the constitution.
Later, FATA Jamaat Islami chief and former MNA Sahibzada Haroon-ur-Rashid, while addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club, said the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulations’ was a license for killing of the tribal people. It was an open violation of the constitution, against the law and morality, he added. “The constitution ensures the basic human rights to each and every citizen living in the country,” he said, adding that the stated regulations were against the basic human rights and the teachings of Holy Quran and Sunnah. “Under the regulation, a political agent, DCO and or an army officer can award punishment of hanging, life imprisonment, keeping any person in the lockup for indefinite period, confiscating of property and or imposing heavy fine upon any person they want,” he explained. He added that they could also be manoeuvred to abolish houses and evacuate the residential areas to use for using military purposes.
The regulation, he said, would protected all the war crimes of the security forces, cases of extra judicial killings and acts against the constitution of the country committed in FATA and PATA during the last three years.
Hundreds of innocent people were killed, injured, their houses were demolished and thousands others had been displaced from their homes. The regulation was surprisingly promulgated from February 1, 2008, to legalise the war crimes, he maintained. He recalled that Prime Minister Gillani in his first speech had announced reforms in the FCR but he failed to fulfil the commitment made with the tribal people. He warned if the government failed to review the decision they would start a series of protest demonstrations across the province and organise a rally towards the Parliament House.
