- Top civil, military leaders meet today to approve amendments in Army Act for setting up military courts
- PM says his govt is committed to ‘identifying and destroying hardcore terrorists, and protecting the civilians’
Top civil and military leadership is scheduled to meet today (Friday) in a follow-up meeting of National Action Plan (NAP) to give a nod to the government’s draft for bringing in amendments to the Army Act 1952 for setting up military courts across the country.
The meeting will also review the progress of decisions taken during the All Parties Conference (APC) held on December 24.
The decision to convene the follow up meeting was taken during a high-level meeting on Thursday which was attended by the prime minister and his team working on the legal measures for setting up military courts.
The meeting, which lasted over three hours, was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Rizwan Akhtar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid among others.
“After concerns expressed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani and Hamid Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) among others over amending the constitution, the government has decided to agree to their recommendations and now a draft proposal has been finalised to amend the Army Act 1952. It has been now decided to bring in amendments enabling the army courts to try those (civilian) terrorists who are involved in attacking military or civilian targets,” a well-placed source told Pakistan Today.
“Today’s meeting would also be attended by PTI Chairman Imran Khan and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari among other top politicians who have been invited to clear air about the objective of military courts, and to express the government’s resolve that no politician would be tried by the military courts which would only be transferred cases of hardened terrorists,” the source added.
PM SAYS CAN’T REMAIN NEUTRAL:
Chairing the Thursday’s meeting on the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) on countering terrorism and extremism, the prime minister said that indiscriminate action would be taken against terrorists and their sympathisers. He expressed his government’s commitment in this regard saying that NAP was aimed at “identifying and destroying hardcore terrorists, and protecting the civilians”.
“Our war is against hatred, fear and terrorism,” he said, adding that nobody could remain neutral in this war against terrorists. He said the government would support the armed forces and law enforcement agencies to keep the country safe in years to come.
The PM said the country’s political spectrum was united in war against terrorism and extremism and will achieve success by taking effective measures at right time.
Earlier, leader of opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah said that there was no discussion about setting up of special courts during the previous APC meeting. However, he said that all parties had agreed to amend the Army Act.
ARMY ACT ON THE TABLE:
In the meanwhile, a politician, who has been a member of the experts’ committee, told Pakistan Today that the legal experts committee had finished its work and it had been decided that rather than going for amending the constitution, it was better to amend the Army Act 1952 to expand the purview of the military courts to civilian suspects who “aided, abetted, financed, trained or commissioned an act of terrorism against civilians or army men or army and civil installations”.
“As directed by the federal government, the chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces may convene as many special tribunals as may be necessary to try offences under the laws mentioned in section 2(1)(d), including the convening of tribunals of appeals to hear appeals against the decisions made and sentences passed by the special tribunals,” a draft document recommended for amendments in the Army Act 1952 says.
“A special tribunal convened under section 2A, shall have the power to try any person including a person who is not a member of the Armed Forces who has committed any offence under the laws referred to in sub-clauses (iii)(iv) and (v) of clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section (2),” the document added.
“For the trial offences under section 2(1)(d) as amended procedure provided in the Pakistan Army Act 1952 or the law under which special tribunal or the tribunal of appeals is constituted and the rules made thereunder shall apply.”
“Where a person has committed an offence before the commencement of this Act, and the case relating thereto is pending trial in any court, the same may be transferred to a tribunal constituted under section 2A under a direction of the federal government,” the recommendation says.
Under the recommended draft, an appeal against the final judgment of a special tribunal shall lie before a tribunal of appeals convened under section 2A.
Moreover, copies of the judgment of the special tribunals shall be supplied to the accused and the public prosecutor or the defending officer free-of-cost on the day the judgment is pronounced, and the record of special tribunals shall be transmitted to the tribunal of appeals within two days of the decision.
“An appeal under sub-section (1) may be preferred by a person sentenced to a tribunal of appeals within three days of the passing of the sentence,” the draft document says.
ARMY SPECIFIC JUSTICE?
Commenting on the situation, noted jurist SM Zafar said that it appears as if the government has decided not to give the constitutional protection to the law and thus amendments in the Army Act are being recommended.
“This indicates that they will allow only trial of such civilians who attack army installation or army personnel and anything concerning with the army but will not cover any terrorist attack that may take place on normal civil activities.”
He said that in view of these judgements, he has an apprehension that the new law being prepared without a constitutional protection will create a difference between an attack on the armed forces and attack on the public.
I had already written and said that there was no need to amend the Constitution for establishing the military courts. this purpose could be achieved by changes in the law. Finally the government has seen the light of the day on this issue , and agreed to not touch the Constitution , and amend the Army Act.
I hope this move will be appreciated by all. No Constitutional Crisis will occur. The legal activists would be satisfied too. In conclusion I would stress on keeping the consensus intact. We need unity and harmony to defeat the enemy.
Judging by its performance, the present armed forces set up can almost be guaranteed to come up to public expectations, but the same can not be said about political leadership. So, the military leadership is not wrong getting worried about differences emerging among political parties over the establishment of military courts. Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting with Nawaz Sharif, and I think it was after a meeting between the two gentlemen that Nawaz Sharif stopped the executions for which even the dates had been announced. Hopefully, Nawaz Sharif would show some firmness this time and stick to the decision to set up military courts.
There are indications that – perhaps influenced by Aitzaz Ahsan's advice – the government has almost decided to amend the Army Act and to expand its scope to bring the terrorism cases within its ambit. It is claimed that such a course can be adopted without having to amend the constitution. However, Nawaz Sharif would do well to remember that Aitzaz Ahsan's advice did not prove very helpful to Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
A risk still remains that taking a suo motu notice, or in the course of hearing any petition filed by someone opposed to military courts, the Supreme Court may declare these to be in violation of the basic structure of the constitution. Of course, to compensate the over-activism of a former Chief Justice, the present superior judiciary is avoiding getting embroiled in matters which it considers to be the domain of the executive. So, the superior judiciary taking suo motu notice of the setting up of military courts seems unlikely. And in case someone challenged military courts, the supreme court could perhaps exercise its option of hearing the case after ten years or so and then dismiss the case, saying military courts have already been wound up. We do have instances of cases filed in 1996 heard in 2012.
Nawaz Sharif better take sound advice whether to establish military courts to try civilian terrorists by amending the Army Act or to amend the constitution for the purpose. I hope he is not planning to set up military courts to try civilian terrorists by amending Army Act, hoping that Supreme Court would eventually abolish these, declaring them to be in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. And then claim, look I tried my best, but it can't be done and we just have to depend on the civilian Anti-Terrorism Courts. And then announce formation of yet another committee to recommend measures to improve Anti-Terrorism Courts' conviction rate by reforming the investigation and prosecution procedures and providing protection to judges and witnesses.
Luckily for us, a no-nonsense army chief is there.
Karachi
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