ریاست قلات کی عدالتہائے قضا ءکا پس منظر

Background of the Judiciary Courts of QalÉt State

Abstract

A Baloch government was established in the state of QalÉt as early as 1530. However, due to conflicts among the Baloch people and the eruption of a civil war, this government was not strong enough to enact any formal law and set up regular judicial system. Nevertheless, as Muslims, they preferred to settle their disputes according to Shariah principles. Although no systematic efforts to establish judicial system have been found in history, the Baloch people used to have a Jirga system consisting of trusted and authoritative scholars who would decide matters according to Islamic law. The first person to formally establish judiciary in QalÉt was Mir Ahmad Khan (1666-1695), the ancestor of the present Khawanis of QalÉt. During the subsequent period of the Khawanis, this system of the judiciary remained in force until 1794 when Khan-e-Azam Mir Naseer Khan Noori Khan of QalÉt was appointed by the Balochs and he made a formal constitution for the state which was in the official language of that time, i.e. the Persian.        When Khan Ahmad Yar Khan was appointed as Khan of QalÉt in 1936, he, by following the footsteps of his ancestor Noori Naseer Khan, drafted a constitution for the state of QalÉt in the name of the civil state of QalÉt. According to this constitution, five levels of courts were created. In 1952, four laws were enacted to govern the judicial system in the United States of Balochistan. In this article, the judicial system of the state of QalÉt has been elaborated on in its historical context and main characteristics.  Keywords: judicial system, State of Qalat, Shariah principles