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Paramilitary soldiers patrol at the premises of National Assembly building during an assembly session, Jan 6, 2015 in Islamabad, Jan 6, 2015. - AP
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ISLAMABAD: As the National Assembly stamped approval on the controversial amendments empowering military courts to try civilian terror suspects along with affording these proposed tribunals constitutional protection, reactions to these on the national stage have varied from a roaring approval to vehement opposition.
Speaking to a television channel soon after the amendment’s adoption in the NA, security analyst Imtiaz Gul said it seemed that the army had been “asked to manage the situation because the government could not do much on its own”.
He said what the current amendment does at most is a fire-fighting to some extent, saying Pakistan’s security conundrum had taken deep roots within society and the system.
“We need a more thorough overhaul of our criminal justice system and without that there can be no long term solution to the situation we are faced with. The government should earnestly look towards changes in Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Gul added that the madrassahs operating in the country should be cognizant of the fact that in no other country in the world do seminaries work with the degree of autonomy that they get in Pakistan.
“There is no harm in asking the madrassahs to register themselves,” Gul said, adding that the government should keep a keen eye on what is being taught not only in madrassahs but also in other educational institutions.
Sheikh Rasheed of the Awami Muslim League disagrees.
Although, the AML chief did not turn up at the House to vote for or against the amendments, he believes if would not be wise to alienate the madrassahs and that the government and the army should take seminaries in board.
He said even though a good number of lawmakers did not want to vote for military courts, they said they were going for the option because of “the failure of the civilian-administered jusitce system”.
Rasheed said he felt that the army was being drawn into a complicated situation and that it would not be wise for the army to entangle itself too deep.
However, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, who played a pivotal role in the movement for the reinstatement of judges, said it was a pity that the country's judiciary was being deliberately embarassed and an environment had been created to malign the judiciary.
Opposing the introduction of military courts, Mehmood said for the current situation it was not fair to blame the judiciary alone.
Mehmood said the amendment will likely be challenged and the mood that has been created is such that if the judiciary strikes down the changes, this environment could worsen.
Despite this, I am convinced that “the judiciary should operate in accordance with the law and stay true to the spirit of the Constitution”.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a former member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and currently a member of the Musharraf-led All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), said political parties no longer had any role to stay in Parliament.
“With the passing of the amendment and a further strengthening of the armed forces, the lawmakers really have no real role to play anymore,” Kasuri said in a ridiculing tone.
“The role of managing security and foreign affairs has gone to the armed forces and at this point, the political cattle is simply being orchestrated and led by General Raheel Sharif,” he said.
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