courts whether or not to make their hearings public. This is how this kind of courts usually function, he pointed out.
He said that the cases would be referred in installments. For the moment, nine courts have been established, but their number will be increased in view of the workload.There have been demands from different people every now and then to forward to the military courts certain cases of heinous crimes like gruesome molestation and killing of minor girls. But the official made it clear that only terrorists would be tried by these forums and no other case would be handed over to them. He said the cases covered by the amendments in the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) fell within the purview of the military courts.
The amendments in the Constitution and the PAA, extending the scope of the military courts, were approved by the parliament on January 6. Since then, preparations are being made to kick-start trials.
In the normal justice system, police register cases on their own or on complaints of aggrieved parties. The force arrest, investigate and prosecute the accused persons in the relevant courts. It is for the judges, obviously a forum different from the accusing police, to convict or release the accused. This is the fundamental part of the justice system worldwide. No one institution is allowed to be investigator, judge, jury and prosecutor at the same time.
In the instant case, the army will arrest, interrogate, prosecute and try the alleged terrorists. The premier intelligence agencies will play a great role in the process. The extraordinary measure has been taken to meet the exceptional situation. The army’s JAG (Judge Advocate General) branch of the military will be too busy fighting in the military courts for sentencing of the terrorists.
The official said that the defence authorities would serve as a post office in sending cases to the special courts, as the actual decision to refer them would be taken by the Interior Ministry.He said it was difficult to spell out any timeframe following which these courts will hand down rulings, but believed that a case may take just a few weeks. He said that the basic objective behind establishing the military courts was to have speedy trials, which was not possible in the ordinary judicial bodies.The official said the role of the civilian institutions or agencies like police will be non-existent in this process unless the military authorities seek their assistance.