Upon the list of the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947 the laws of the erstwhile British Raj remained in force. At no point in Pakistan's legal history was there an intention to begin the statute book afresh. During the reign of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, elements of Islamic Sharia law were incorporated into Pakistani law, leading to the institution of a Federal Shariat Court. In some Federally and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas and a system of law employing traditional methods persists at the local level. At this informal level, disputes are settled by a jirga, a council of tribal elders.
