Another controversial execution: Would it hamper credibility of military courts?

by Tauqeer Abbas
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hanging

 The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the execution of a death-row prisoner, who was sentenced to death by a military court after he was found to be involved in terrorism. Haider Ali, now 21 years old, was arrested by security forces in 2009, when he was 14 years old and a 10th grade student at the Malakand Public High School, Swat.Bacha Laiqa, the mother of accused maintained in the petition that her son was arrested by security forces in 2009 on charges of terrorism, but they did not have any information about him after the arrest. It was only recently, six years after Ali’s arrest, that she and her husband found out through media reports their son was imprisoned in a jail in Timergara, in Lower Dir district, and was sentenced to death by a military court, the parents said in the application.

Military courts are geared towards the goal of executing suspected terrorists, which does not leave any room for a fair trial for the accused or the right to an appeals process. The 21st amendment states: “An extraordinary situation and circumstances exist which demand special measures for speedy trial of offences relating to terrorism, waging of war or insurrection against Pakistan and prevention of acts threatening the security of Pakistan.” This amendment came at a time when terrorist attacks and acts of sectarian violence were occurring with alarming frequency. The Army Public School attack in Peshawar last December, which resulted in the deaths of about 150 people, mostly school children, was the last straw for the government and military. This brutal massacre shook the country to the core and the state resolved to eradicate terrorism once and for all. Yet it is ironic that the measures taken to prevent any more children from dying is now putting the lives of juvenile convicts on the line. It is very fortunate for this otherwise doomed young man that the court, in its wisdom, has suspended the execution order. It is quite likely that there are several other such cases that have gone unnoticed because the families of the accused cannot afford to hire a competent lawyer or do not have the wherewithal to challenge the verdict. Even at the time that the military courts were set up, there were misgivings about whether these expedient military courts would be fair and uphold the rule of law. Haider Ali’s unjust death sentence has confirmed all those fears and has strengthened the argument against military courts. COAS General Raheel Sharif has said that more military courts will be set up in Karachi and the Karachi operation will continue with full vigour. The government, military and judiciary all seem to be either unaware of or unperturbed by these state-sanctioned human rights violations. This new system of ‘justice’ will undermine democracy and the credibility of the state. Any nation that denies its citizens the right to a fair trial cannot be called democratic. The military courts were set up because the existing courts were considered far too inefficient to deal with terrorist cases in a timely fashion.

pk.shafaqna.com