A chapter of militancy has been closed after the killing of banned sectarian outfit Laskhar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ) chief Malik Ishaq and his two sons in a shootout after one week of their arrest. They were killed during an exchange of fire when the police convoy that was transporting Ishaq and his sons was attacked by his supporters who wanted free him from police custody. A total of 11 attackers were killed in the exchange of fire and six policemen of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) were injured.The death of Malik Ishaq removes from play, one of — allegedly — the most prolific sectarian killers. The banned organisation that he led, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), has been blamed for some of the most appalling sectarian acts of violence, is alleged to have links to al Qaeda and to be developing links with the Islamic State (IS). Malik Ishaq has spent many years in prison, but has rarely been convicted of anything he was accused of, in large part because witnesses were intimidated or the evidence was poorly collected and presented.There is a lesson here that absolutely has to be learned if there is a viable way forward: the feared militant spent years behind bars but could not be convicted in court – not necessarily because he was innocent, but because witnesses were too terrified to testify against him, while the broken justice system could not build a watertight case against him.To achieve success in countering terrorism and militancy, the authorities must arrest, prosecute and punish militants through legal means. The dysfunctional justice system needs to be fixed and effective protection programmes for witnesses, prosecutors and judges dealing with terrorism cases need to be in place.Whilst we must welcome the successes of the law-enforcement agencies, we also have a growing concern that our justice system seems to be failing in its job of bringing people like Malik Ishaq to justice. Extra-judicial ‘justice’ can never be a long-term solution for the problem of sectarian violence that the country has faced for long. The rule of law is for everybody to abide by, including the police, and it is flouted at our peril. The elimination of people like Malik Ishaq, who are the perpetrators of heinous crimes, is certainly good news. However, we need to rectify weaknesses in our police and justice system. As the killing of Malik Ishaq has triggered tensions in his hometown and other districts of south Punjab, the police and security agencies must be alert to the threat of retaliatory attacks. One should not be complacent that Ishaq is dead and therefore sectarian crimes are over. The organisation is there and functional. At the very least, a crackdown needs to be launched against the LeJ in south Punjab.
pk.shafaqna.com
