The terrorists should be tried in special military courts under law of war with minimum benefits of civil judicial system.
A recently released US State Department report on terrorism related issues and role of Pakistan has severely criticized the Pakistani government officials for their incapability of prosecuting terrorists and militants who remained involved in different terror activities across the country. The report says that three out of four suspected terrorists are acquitted by Anti-Terrorism Courts – most of them are released by the courts owing to lack of evidence.
The report says the US was extremely unhappy over the role of Pakistan in the war against terror, saying the top functionaries of the government were playing a double game with the US. Pakistani officials commit publicly to fight a war against terrorism and help international community in eliminating the menace but actions of the state tell a different story. The US State Department report of 2010 clearly says that the acquittal rate of suspected terrorists was 75 per cent in the country.
That is not only shocking but thought provoking for many across the world who see Pakistan as a frontline ally of the US on war against terrorism. The report also comes heavily on the statistics of recent years about conviction of suspected terrorists. It says the courts have yet to issue a judgment on a terrorism case and also released many terror suspects for lack of evidence.
Extremism and religious intolerance has been increasing in the country for the past many years but the government functionaries appear a silent spectator only even after when a high-profile assassination takes place owing to the menace in our midst. Governor Punjab Salman Taseer was killed on January 2 this year in an upscale market of Islamabad by one of his own bodyguards for speaking against a controversial blasphemy law. The government could not utter even a single word of condemnation to the incident, let alone introduce amendments in the much-criticized law.
Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of the governor, has been behind the bars for the last eight months and the court has yet to issue a verdict on this case. Why the court is delaying penalty to the killer? Is there any pressure on the court for not delivering judgment in the case? The killing of the governor was a barbaric and bone-shivering act and the killer must have been handed over the punishment because this is the case where no evidence is needed. The assassin has confessed his crime before the court in a written statement but the judgment has still to see light of the day.
Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti fell prey to terrorism on March 4, but a couple of killers arrested by the police have been released by the court for lack of evidence. Why the government has failed to increase conviction rate of terrorists and curb activities of militant outfits operating across Pakistan? The simple answer is the government functionaries lack commitment and will to proceed against the suspected terrorists.
It is also a fact that most of the terrorists are arrested by spy agencies of the country but they are handed over to police for prosecution without solid evidences against them. The need is to tighten noose around the intelligence agencies by making them bound for provision of evidence to the police, so that the suspect cannot be acquitted for lack of evidence.