Turning point

The actions taken by parliament on January 6, 2015 could well shape the future of our country. By two-thirds majority, the National Assembly and Senate have passed the 21st Amendment Bill, setting up military tribunals to try terrorists, and have also amended the Army Act to allow for these. It is already clear that the new law is a contentious one. Opinion about it has been mixed and the PTI, JI and JUI-F as well as Sheikh Rasheed refrained from voting. The JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, later lashed out vehemently against the bill, arguing that it tied religion into terrorism and attempted to distort Islam. Others opposed the law for quite different reasons. The PPP, more than any other party, knows first-hand the grave consequences such decisions can have. At the PPP’s parliamentary meeting held on January 5, dissent was expressed against the decision to vote in favour of the Bill, with Raza Rabbani, Nawab Yousaf Talpur and Nafeesa Shah among those opposing the party co-chairman’s decision to back the Bill. Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah claimed his party voted for the amendment with a heavy heart – but that does not excuse them. Reports suggest a similar divide exists within the PTI.
Predictably enough, the prime minister of course stated the law was essential given the current situation faced by Pakistan and that its passage would lift the country out of the quagmire of difficulties it faced. Whether this proves to be accurate only time will tell – but clearly serious doubts exist. Prominent jurists such as Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood have said the setting up of military courts essentially undermined the judiciary. Raza Rabbani has called the passing of the bill the ‘death of parliament’. There is then quite obviously a lack of unity over a law that would seem to have cast us back once more into a past which is not well lightened in terms of leadership provided by the military. Time and again, we have been dragged down into an ocean of troubles. The setting up of military courts would appear to be yet more evidence of that. There is no reason to believe such courts can mete out the kind of justice we need. People need justice and they need it to be fair and without bias. It will be almost impossible for that to happen in the presence of military courts. The fact that they will now determine much of what happens in terms of the trial of terrorists over the two-year period for which they have been set up is not good news for us as a nation. It is also a fact that such courts have a tendency to constantly expand their remit and exist indefinitely. Our struggle for survival appears to have become harder still. Our elected representatives have abdicated their power out of fear and once again done our democracy a great disservice.