Law of evidence to defang military courts: Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

PAT Chairman Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said that due to shortcomings in the law of evidence, justice is killed. He warned that if the military courts were chained by law of evidence, the requirements of speedy trial of the terrorists would not be fulfilled.

Dr Qadri expressed these views while talking to office-bears of the PAT Lawyers Forum yesterday. He said that it is true that humans will be sitting in the military courts, adding that the perpetrators of violence who killed innocent people were sentence to death by the military courts alone. He said that our defective law of evidence supports the thieves, robbers, terrorists and criminals. He said that there are so many missing links in the current justice system that even the highest of the courts cannot convict them.

The PAT Chairman said that 56 injured eye-witnesses recorded their statements before the antiterrorism court in the Model Town case; video footage and other proofs were submitted to the court; medical & legal and post-mortem reports of the martyrs were presented but still the masterminds of the tragedy were not summoned. He asked what more proofs should be presented to get the perpetrators punished.

Dr Qadri said that those who have not brought about reforms in the justice system and law of evidence are responsible for the current malaise in the country. He said that after prescription of law of evidence for the military courts, they will be courts manned by military uniform wearing judges but the actual system under which they will be deciding the cases will be that of civil courts. He said that political parties are coming up with different explanations to justify their support for the enactment of the law for extension in the term of military courts. He asked why these so-called political parties that now talk of having swallowed bitter pill of military courts did not feel any qualm of conscience when thousands of people fell victim to terrorism.

The PAT Chairman said that it has become our culture that those who record evidence against the powerful have to pay a heavy cost, asking as to who will come forward to bear witness against hardcore terrorists. He said that modern gadgets and devices are not considered as evidence. Consequently, terrorism is being fought in the courts of law with traditional approach, which would fail spectacularly in checking terrorism. He said that there is no policy focus among the government circles so far as anti-terror strategy is concerned, otherwise the masses would not have been made fun of in the name of consultations.