New special courts in Kohat, Lakki Marwat ready to try terrorism suspects

The construction of court rooms in the Internment Centers at Lakki Marwat and Kohat has been completed, and the trial of suspected militants would started very soon, officials told Pakistan Today.
A highly-placed official in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government told Pakistan Today that the construction of special courts rooms at Lakki Marwat and Kohat had been completed. The special courts rooms work under the civil administration in the two districts.
He said that the KP government, through its Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, was currently in touch with the Peshawar High Court for the appointment of judges under Anti-Terrorist Act. The appointed judges would try the militants arrested on terrorism-related charges in the newly-built court rooms.
According to official sources, around 1,800 people, who were arrested on charges of terrorism, are detained in various cells across the KP province. A majority of these people were arrested from Swat and other districts of Malakand, and various tribal agencies. The government has recently announced to set up interim centers to examine the charges of the arrested suspects.
So far, 194 of the arrested alleged militants have been shifted to Lakki Marwat Internment Center. No one has been shifted to Kohat Internment Center, while a majority of other suspects detained in cells in Swat, Peshawar and other main cities and towns of the province.
The official said that soon after the appointment and posting of judges, the internment centers would start operations in Swat, Lakki Marwat and Kohat. In Swat, a number of Anti-Terrorist Courts are functioning since early 2010. But the officials say that more special courts were required for early disposals of cases.
The special courts in Lakki Marwat and Kohat will try suspected militants from both the settled and tribal areas of KP.
In Swat and other districts of Malakand division, the security forces arrested more than 2,000 suspected militants. Another 1,000 suspects were arrested from the rest of the province. Several arrested suspects have already been released, as nothing illegal and unlawful could be proved against them.