Abstract

This paper brings to light the customary court of dareemat and explores its structure and practice among Pashtuns in the Zhob District of Balochistan. Existing literature on Pashtun society has mainly focused on the jirgah as the sole traditional institution of settling conflicts and disputes. The institution/court of dareemat primarily deals with resolution of disputes and conflicts pertaining to claims over property, land, accusations, and allegations. It consists of dareeman (arbitrators), disputants, eyewitnesses, and observers. Dareemat can be initiated through mutual consent of the disputants or arbitrators, depending on the intensity of the conflict or dispute. Individual males, having reputation for integrity, eloquence, expertise, and experience of arbitration (dareemat), are trusted with the task of being jury in the court of dareemat. It exists parallel to statutory courts of civil disputes in Zhob. The post-colonial state of Pakistan somehow has recognized the role of customary laws and courts in the sphere of civil disputes in predominantly Pashtun areas in tribal regions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. By applying a legal pluralism lens to study the practice and settlement of civil disputes by using the customary dareemat court, Pashtuns in Zhob District prefer to settle their disputes outside formal courts, in the dareemat as a first recourse to justice. The findings of the article are based on 10 months anthropological fieldwork substantiated by dareemat archives in the form of affidavits.

摘要

本文揭示了达雷马特的习惯法庭，并探讨了俾路支省佐布地区普什图人的结构和实践。现有关于普什图社会的文献主要集中在支尔格作为解决冲突和争端的唯一传统机构。Dareemat机构/法院主要处理与财产、土地索赔、指控和指控有关的争议和冲突。它由敢于担当的人（仲裁员）、争议者、目击者和观察员组成。达雷马特根据冲突或争议的严重程度，可以在争议双方或仲裁员双方同意的情况下启动。具有正直、口才、专业知识和仲裁经验（daremat）声誉的男性个体，被信任承担在daremat法院担任陪审员的任务。它与佐布民事纠纷法定法院平行存在。后殖民国家巴基斯坦在某种程度上已经认识到习惯法和法院在开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省和俾路支省部落地区的普什图族占主导地位的民事纠纷领域的作用。运用法律多元化的视角，利用习惯法来研究民事纠纷的实践和解决佐布地区的普什图人更喜欢在正式法庭之外解决争端，在“daremat ”中作为诉诸司法的第一途径。这篇文章的研究结果基于 10 个月的人类学实地考察，并由Dareemat档案以宣誓书形式证实。