Giving recommendations: Judicial magistrates nominated for military courts
The two officers will conduct speedy trials of alleged terrorists
The two officers will conduct speedy trials of alleged terrorists. PHOTO: CREATIVE
KARACHI:
Two judicial magistrates have been nominated to serve at the newly established military courts in Karachi on the request of the Sindh government.
The district and sessions judge of District West recommended judicial magistrate II and judicial magistrate V to be posted as judicial officers at the courts to conduct speedy trials of alleged terrorists under the Pakistan Army Act.
The court was asked for the nominations by the home department on Thursday. Earlier, the provincial government had approached the chief justice of the Sindh High Court for the nominations of judicial magistrates for the military courts set up in different cities. Four military courts have been established in the province — two in Karachi and one each in Hyderabad and Sukkur.
Under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the judicial officers nominated will record the statements and confessions of the accused being tried in military courts. They will also preside over the identification parade of the accused; a prosecution procedure in which the suspect(s) and similar person(s) are shown to the witness(es) so that the real culprit(s) can be identified.
The letter sent by the home department to the SHC made reference to a letter from the Army's 5-Core Karachi, received in mid-February, which read that prior to the commencement of the trial in military courts, some of the accused persons wanted to make confessions. In the letter, the home department was asked to ensure the nominations of judicial officers to carry out the procedure.
Sindh advocate-general Abdul Fateh Malik told The Express Tribune that a list of 65 cases has been sent by the province to the federal government.
The proposal of military courts was forwarded in the wake of the Peshawar school massacre, on December 16, 2014, in which 150 people, mostly children, were killed by militants.
The courts to speedily try alleged militants were, however, given constitutional cover after the 21st Amendment which was unanimously passed by the National Assembly and assented by President Mamnoon Hussain in January.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2015.
Two judicial magistrates have been nominated to serve at the newly established military courts in Karachi on the request of the Sindh government.
The district and sessions judge of District West recommended judicial magistrate II and judicial magistrate V to be posted as judicial officers at the courts to conduct speedy trials of alleged terrorists under the Pakistan Army Act.
The court was asked for the nominations by the home department on Thursday. Earlier, the provincial government had approached the chief justice of the Sindh High Court for the nominations of judicial magistrates for the military courts set up in different cities. Four military courts have been established in the province — two in Karachi and one each in Hyderabad and Sukkur.
Under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the judicial officers nominated will record the statements and confessions of the accused being tried in military courts. They will also preside over the identification parade of the accused; a prosecution procedure in which the suspect(s) and similar person(s) are shown to the witness(es) so that the real culprit(s) can be identified.
The letter sent by the home department to the SHC made reference to a letter from the Army's 5-Core Karachi, received in mid-February, which read that prior to the commencement of the trial in military courts, some of the accused persons wanted to make confessions. In the letter, the home department was asked to ensure the nominations of judicial officers to carry out the procedure.
Sindh advocate-general Abdul Fateh Malik told The Express Tribune that a list of 65 cases has been sent by the province to the federal government.
The proposal of military courts was forwarded in the wake of the Peshawar school massacre, on December 16, 2014, in which 150 people, mostly children, were killed by militants.
The courts to speedily try alleged militants were, however, given constitutional cover after the 21st Amendment which was unanimously passed by the National Assembly and assented by President Mamnoon Hussain in January.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2015.