A Peshawar High Court bench on June 22 directed the Federal Government to produce a detailed report on landmine explosions in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), especially South Waziristan, within three weeks, reports Dawn. Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Syed M Attique Shah issued the directions to Additional Attorney General Amir Javed after holding preliminary hearing into the joint petition of Sajjad Ahmad Mehsud and four other lawyers against the frequent landmine blasts in tribal Districts. The petitioners sought the demining of the tribal region, especially South Waziristan, by the Federal and Provincial Governments and compensation of the affected families. The date of next hearing will be fixed later. The petitioners claimed that the landmine explosions were killing and injuring more and more residents but the relevant authorities were unmoved.
The petitioners requested the court to direct the respondents, including Federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governments, to remove landmines, especially in South Waziristan District, and highlight the affected areas as Red Zone. The petitioners also sought orders for the Government to pay compensation under the Shuhada Package to the legal heirs of landmine blasts and to the residents, who suffered injuries or whose houses were damaged. They also demanded the registration of landmine blast cases by the Police in their daily diaries to check ‘discrimination’ against the residents of the erstwhile FATA.