Military courts will not only hamper proper administration of justice, but would also cause a severe blow to judiciary
SIALKOT: Pakistan’s struggle for democracy is similar to the Sisyphean task, as every attempt to build a democratic society is thwarted by undemocratic forces on one or the other pretext and people find themselves at the same position from where they had begun.
They tolerated the inefficient and allegedly corrupt PPP government and are now putting up with an inefficient government of the PML-N with the hope that the dawn of democracy would end the darkness of dictatorship. However, all their hopes have ended in smoke with the passage of the 21st Amendment, which not only legalised the military’s constitutional role in government but also has left an impression on the public that the military is the only panacea for all our ills and that civilian governments are incompetent.
Military courts will not only hamper the proper administration of justice, but would also cause a severe blow to the judiciary which has recently regained its independence after a long battle against a military dictator. There is no reason to support this attack on democracy. If new courts for terrorism cases are needed, then they must be established under a civilian set-up and the military should only provide security to judges, lawyers and witnesses. If the investigation system is flawed, then the army and intelligence agencies should help civilian courts by providing sufficient evidence against terrorists. The reality is that we are now doing what America did after 9/11: the establishment is playing on people’s fear of terrorism and is maximising its own power at the cost of democracy. For those who think that the establishment will relinquish its powers after some time should peruse the history of Rome which was heavily dependent on its army for security against Germanic and other barbaric tribes. Almost every general would declare himself ‘emperor’ after success against the Germanic tribes and the people of Rome would each time cede their democratic values and traditions to them. Consequently, Rome fell into civil war and disintegrated.
US President Dwight Eisenhower once cautioned his people to understand the grave implications involved in the development of the military industrial complex necessitated by the Second World War and the Cold War. In my opinion, we should follow his advice and understand the dangers of increasing military power; otherwise, we would not be able to escape from the same tragedy which the Romans faced centuries ago.
Advocate Tayyab Butt
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2015.
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