Dispelling fears: Military courts will protect democracy, says Rashid

Says these courts will be constituted for a specific time frame

ISLAMABAD: Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Sunday that in the past military courts were used to crush democracy but now these would protect democracy and democratic rights of the people besides trying terrorists.

In an interview, the minister said some people expressed their reservations over special courts on the basis of their misuse in the past, particularly with reference to the tenures of dictators when the Constitution remained suspended or was abrogated. Now these courts will owe their birth to the Constitution, the minister assured. These courts would be constituted for a specific timeframe with a specified objective to deal with terrorists only.

He said for Pakistan, peace in Afghanistan was as important as in Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had played a key  role in persuading and bringing the Afghan leadership on the same page, on the issues of peace and stability in the region. Now both countries will join hands to root out terrorism as peace is a joint asset for both, he added.



Rashid said the PML-N during its election campaign included three Es - Extremism, Energy and Economy - as part of its manifesto. During the past one and a half year considerable progress has been made on the fronts of economy and energy, but it was an admitted fact that no country could prosper and make progress without peace. Thus, elimination of terrorism is essential for the prosperity of Pakistan.

Responding to a question, he said now the special courts would deal with only terrorism-related cases. He said all political forces were united on this issue and legislation would be done to determine what kind of cases be referred to these courts and their mandate would also be pointed out.

The minister said the country’s Islamic seminaries not only imparted education to those students who were unable to meet their educational expenses but also provided board and lodging facilities to them. It is, however, a fact that some Madaris are misused by some elements, but steps will be taken to bring them into the educational mainstream. As far as their funding is concerned, the minister said it was not limited to Madaris only, anyone can get funding from abroad or through any other illegal source.

He said the working groups constituted by the prime minister would hold consultations with organisations of Madaris so that a system could be evolved under which the seminaries could run their affairs transparently. He said the Peshawar school massacre was a national tragedy and since that day the government and national leadership were fully focusing not only to formulate but to implement policies to eliminate terrorism from the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2014.