Pakistan's kangaroo courts: How army refused to shut them down

The military courts were set up in Pakistan in 2014. These courts were mainly set up to try cases of terrorism. A constitutional amendment was brought about to empower these courts to try terror accus

In 2016, the International Commission of Jurists had said that the Pakistan government and military authorities had failed to make information about the trials being conducted. This was in specific reference to the military courts that were set up in 2014 to try cases relating to terrorism. This observation is apt considering the manner in which Pakistan conducted the trial against Kulbhushan Jadhav and sentenced him to death.

The commission had said that no information about the place of the trial, specific charges and evidence are made public by these courts. Further it went on to add that the judgments are not made available and also the legal reasoning and evidence on the basis of which the conviction is awarded is also not made public.

Lack of transparency:

The military courts in Pakistan have a notorious track record. These courts have been accused of conducting trials in secrecy. The Pakistan Army relies on these courts when it is unable to provide sufficient evidence before a civil court.

In the past two years, the military courts in Pakistan have handed out 274 convictions of which 161 were sentenced to death. There were 144 confessions in all before these courts. None of these cases are there in public domain for anyone to analyse the evidence that was considered before the sentences were handed out. Ironically the convicts sentenced by these courts also do not have the right to appeal.

Where is the sun-set clause?

The military courts were set up in Pakistan in 2014. These courts were mainly set up to try cases of terrorism. A constitutional amendment was brought about to empower these courts to try terror accused.

When these courts were set up, a sun-set clause too had been introduced. This meant that these courts would be wound up once the government introduced legislative changes to strengthen the civil courts. However the army in Pakistan pressured the government to extend the validity of these courts by another two years.

OneIndia News