Military courts weren’t army’s desire: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that the military courts were not established merely on the desire of the army, but these were a national requirement.

“The decision on military courts’ extension rests with parliament,” the army spokesman said while talking to a private news channel on Friday night. He said the military courts will continue their work if the parliament decided to extend their tenure.

Now it needs to be seen, the DG ISPR added, if the criminal justice system has become effective enough to deal with the cases. The tenure of military courts, which were established after the 2014 Peshawar terrorist attack, is set to expire in March. The DG ISPR said lawmakers can decide about the fate of military courts “keeping in view the current situation and their impact”.

Asif Ghafoor said even the previous extensions to military courts were given by the public representatives, and the decision has to be taken with consensus. He explained that military courts were established because the country’s criminal justice system couldn’t effectively deal with terrorism cases.

“It was decided through a national consensus that military courts should be established and death penalty be revived,” he said. The military spokesman said 717 cases were given to military courts in the last four years, 646 of which were disposed of. The DG ISPR said there was a transparent system through which the cases were transferred to military courts. “These cases have no link with missing persons,” he asserted and added that military courts created fear among terrorists.

“Military courts have sent a clear message to terror outfits, militants and their handlers that they can be punished,” he said. Earlier this month, the Law Ministry informed that the summary for a second extension to military courts was forwarded to the cabinet for approval.