Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Jamali has said during a recent visit to Senate of Pakistan that 80 percent disputes are settled at village level by jirgas and panchayats. In our existing milieu of villages, it is often seen that young girls of below puberty age are handed over to disputants like sheep and goats. Do we want to revert to old tribal system and laws in this age of enlightenment when already our villages are steeped in ignorance so much so that women are burnt alive due to birth of girls which is in fact the male’s role in determining the sex of a child? The woman is not responsible for the birth of a girl.
Already Police takes cognizance of such decisions by jirgas based on whims and ignorance. As such the courts should not shirk away from their role and responsibilities in curbing crimes and disputes arising from ignorance and backwardness instead of banking on jirgas and panchayats which have become counterproductive in modern age. In fact, the decisions handed down by village jirgas are based on political biases and cannot be depended upon to render equitable justice in our highly polarised society where individuals are at each other’s throats as witnessed in recent local body elections.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
