Nowshera district, Pakistan

PESHAWAR – The wheels of justice often move slowly and expensively in Pakistan, causing public disgust that reputedly strengthens the militancy.  

Now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is addressing this problem through a Musalihatee, or reconciliatory committee, to restore public confidence and isolate the Taliban.

This dispute resolution method takes pressure off police, freeing them to tackle the militancy more efficiently, observers and police officials told Central Asia Online.

“It is proving very good for the people, the police and, above all, the government”, senior police official Nisar Tanoli said about the alternative mediation method in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Taliban-linked militancy has wrought havoc for the past few years. “It gives us space to take on the even bigger threat of militancy”.

The restorative justice system appeared in the United States in 1970 and spread across the globe. Its need here became felt when the fight against the militancy pressured the police and courts.

Police stations were flooded with petty cases while bombs were going off outside. A lack of judges and court facilities meant disputes took years to settle. That caused problems for the poor in particular, and the Taliban exploited the situation by presenting an alternative system of quicker and cheaper justice.

The ploy worked initially, as Pakistanis said, “The Taliban are offering quicker and cheaper justice than the state does.” That perception among the public set off alarm bells for the government.

“We first introduced the restorative justice system in the Hazara region in 2008 on an experimental basis, and when we got good results, this system was slowly and gradually extended to some other districts of Pakhtunkhwa province”, Tanoli told Central Asia Online.

The Musalihatee committee network extends to Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar, where, according to police officials, “encouraging results” Are coming in. The government eyes expansion of the system to all other districts of the province; however, logistical problems are causing some delays.

The Nowshera committee earns high praise from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and Police Chief Malik Naveed Khan.

A neutral committee hears the case when two sides willingly agree to such mediation without involving police or any other legal system.

“This system of dispute resolution is quick and cost-free too”, said Ali Gohar, head of the NGO Just Peace International, which is working with police to run the alternative system.

All sorts of disagreements — except terrorism and issues of the country’s defence and security — can be considered.

“It takes up murder or attempted murder cases and family or financial transaction disputes, and within less than two weeks, the dispute is resolved”, said Mian Jamshed, a member of the committee in Nowshera District.

A six-month review (September 2009 to February 2010) of Musalihatees in Nowshera underscores the public confidence in the system. Some 1,587 applications — including 21 murder cases and 19 for attempted murder — were received. Of those, 1,116 were decided while 471 are pending — a 70% rate of effectiveness.

“Growing public confidence in Musalihatees has taken pressure off police, and we are more focused on a more serious challenge (militancy),” R. S. Javed, a police official at the Cantonment Police Station in Abbottabad, told Central Asia Online by phone.

Women welcome the method because they can avoid lodging complaints at police stations, where they complain of unwanted attention by some policemen. “We know women avoid going to the police station … the alternative dispute resolution mechanism, however, is bringing women to the Musalihatees for resolution of their disputes with males”, Gohar said.

Women also are joining the committees, empowering themselves.

“We are encouraging women to come forward for resolution of their disputes with their men”, Gohar said.

One noted committee case involved a strip of land between the villages of Khawaray and Dargai of Jehangira on one side and Inzaray of Nizampur on the other. The panel settled the matter within a month by awarding two-thirds of the area to Khawaray and one-third to Dargai. Land disputes can take generations to settle through regular Pakistani courts.

Non-resolution of land quarrels in the Swat Valley contributed to the rise of Taliban-linked militancy, when the lower class sought vengeance against long-time landlords.

Militants will find little public support if the state provides quick and cheap justice and improves services, observers said.

By Iqbal Khattak, For CentralAsiaOnline.com, 2010-06-23