*RAWALPINDI: Spokesperson of Pakistan Armed Forces Major General AsifGhafoor breaks silence over the issue of Military Courts extension inPakistan.*
*He said that the military courts were not established on Army’s wish;instead they were the need of the nation at that time.*
In an interview to a private TV channel, the Director General ofInter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) said that at the time they wereestablished, the country was in the grip of terrorism and the courts werecreated to eliminate that menace.
“Military courts were established through a consensus after the attack onArmy Public School in Peshawar; later, the parliament granted an extensionin their term”, he said.
Reacting on the current debate about another extension in the term ofmilitary courts, Maj Gen Ghafoor said that it was for the parliament todecide and the military would do what the parliament tells it to do.
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“Military courts instilled fear in terrorists and a remarkable decline interrorism-related incidents was seen after the military courts [wereestablished]”, he said.
Maj Gen Ghafoor also said that the criminal justice system of the countryneeded reforms and it should be seen if the [criminal justice] system hasbecome effective in dispensing justice.
Maj Gen Ghafoor said that the impression that the military courts violatedthe fundamental right of a fair trial was unfair. “The suspects are given adue chance to present their version [in the military courts], and all thelegal formalities are fulfilled”, he said.
