The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to promulgate an ordinance to maintain current regulations in the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) after the 31st Amendment Bill, 2018 is given assent by the president of Pakistan, a local media outlet reported on Tuesday.
Promulgation of the ordinance is imperative if legal complications are to be avoided later, a senior official said. The official added that the bill did not have a ‘saving clause’ that gives protection to regulations imposed by the provincial governor or president in PATA.
The Protection to Certain Laws Ordinance (2018) would help protect a number of regulations introduced in PATA under Article 247 of the constitution. The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (2009) and the Action Regulation (2011) are some of the most important regulations that would be protected.
The official added that all regulations imposed in PATA would be repealed once the president signs the bill without the ‘saving clause’. As such cabinet members are currently in discussion to resolve the issue.
The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (2009) was promulgated by the governor in the Malakand region when militancy was at its peak. The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation replaced the Shariah Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (1999).
