Wednesday, in ISLAMABAD, bereaved families of terrorist victims appealed to the government to bring back military courts so that victims of terrorism might receive swift justice.
This news follows a recent ruling by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court that ordered the 103 defendants in cases pertaining to the violence on May 9 and 10, 2023 to be tried under ordinary criminal laws and deemed the trial of civilians in military courts to be null and void.
The Supreme Court, by a vote of 4 to 1, also invalidated parts of the Army Act, finding them to be beyond the scope of Congress’s authority and therefore unconstitutional. One judge on the bench was undecided on one paragraph but agreed with the panel overall.
At a news conference held in the National Press Club, the families of the martyrs pleaded with the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling against the military courts.
Nawabzada The heirs of several martyrs, including Jamal Raisani, Haji Sanaullah Khan, Rahimullah, Wazir Farman Elahi, Anwar Zeib, Fawzia, and Muhammad Jamshed, spoke during the press conference.
They claimed that the lack of access to military tribunals for terrorist and riot victims could lead to further violence in the future. They also noted that it could give the enemy’s secret agencies more confidence to try further misadventures along the lines of Kulbhushan Yadav.
“The martyrs are the nation’s pride and the apex court is requested to have a thorough review of underlying factors in order to effectively curb anti-state activities and terror acts while delivering verdicts through military courts,” the families stated.
They mentioned that on Monday they would formally submit a petition to the highest court about the matter.
It was here, according to the descendants of the martyrs, that they showed their solidarity in order to push forward with a movement calling for the reinstatement of military courts.
They claimed they were merely trying to protect the purity of the martyrs’ blood, and that the military tribunals would provide justice to the families of the victims of terrorism.
The family pleaded for a speedy resolution of Kulbhushan’s case at the International Court of Justice to deter other surveillance networks.
The families said that the true problem was a delayed and cumbersome judicial system; as a result, they were pressing for speedy military court trials of the perpetrators.
It is our duty to oppose those who seek to undermine the state. The victims of terrorist attacks should be treated with compassion and dignity. They went on to say that because their parents and grandparents had given their life for their country, the children and families of martyrs are unified on this subject.
According to the families, recent terror attacks in Balochistan and elsewhere show that the threat of terrorism has returned to the country.
