Editorial
After almost 40 months, some of the culprits involved in the May 9, 2023, vandalism have been sentenced by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi, headed by Judge Amjad Ali Shah. Just imagine those who attacked the Military Headquarters of Pakistan, known as General Headquarters (GHQ), have finally been punished after 40 months and this delay in justice is a clear indicator that Pakistan’s justice system needs complete overhauling, but no civilian government is ready to do so.
Related Story: May 9 Black Day: Pakistan Army Demands Justice from the State
It is pertinent to mention that culprits can approach to higher courts to challenge the verdict so one can say there is a long way to go to get the justice for those who were attacked by PTI goons on May 9, 2023. Pakistan Army faces the same kind of treatment when one talks about cases against terrorists in civilian courts. Men in uniform risk their lives to arrest terrorists who in majority of cases get bails from courts and then disappear and in many cases again attack security forces. Is it not unfair treatment with security forces?
Related Story: May 9 Black Day: Pakistani Youth, the Vandalism and the Policy of Pardon
The trial was conducted in an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), which is one of the fast-track mechanisms of justice in Pakistan. The result of the delay in providing justice to those involved in the May 9 Black Day was that many of the culprits reached Pakistan’s Parliament instead they should have been in prison barracks. Those sentenced include Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Murad Saeed, Shibli Faraz, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Shehbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Ahmed Chattha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Murtaza, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra and Ejaz Khan Jazi. Out of the 118 accused in the case, 18 remained continuously absent from the court during the trial, while 29 accused never appeared before the court after the registration of the case. The accused were found involved in attacks on the GHQ Gate, Hamza Camp and the Army Museum, along with allegations of arson, vandalism, attacks on police and damage to public property.
The post-May 9 era was quite painful for the families of martyrs and military personnel who had been waiting for justice. In any country except Pakistan, if an attack were launched against its armed forces or the monuments and symbols dedicated to its martyrs, the culprits could potentially have been penalized within weeks. However, it took 40 months in Pakistan, raising a serious question about the country’s justice system.
One should remember that the civilian bureaucracy, civilian judiciary and civilian government are responsible for the justice system in the country, and Pakistan has long been known for indefinite delays in providing justice.
There is nothing hidden about the May 9 incident, and everybody in Pakistan knows the series of events that culminated in the May 9 black day. However, many of the perpetrators of May 9 are still sitting in Parliament. The lawbreakers of May 9 should have faced their fate if there had been change in the rules that could have been enforced immediately after May 9, 2023 to try civilians in Military Courts. Such a change could have shortened the process of justice, and the culprits could have been held accountable for what they had done to the country.
Perpetrators and offenders of May 9 were free to introduce the false narrative that the events of May 9 were a “false flag operation,” in which the victim—the Pakistan Army—was portrayed as the perpetrator of the events. This narrative was promoted through what the writer describes as deep-rooted, foreign-sponsored PTI media cells.
Whatever has happened during the last three years has surely exposed the perception that everything that happens in Pakistan happens according to the wishes of the Pakistan Army. In many instances, the Pakistan Army has been victimized by the civilian system but was reluctant to publicly acknowledge its vulnerabilities in the past.
Just imagine: the culprits accused of destroying monuments dedicated to martyrs and attacking GHQ received sentences after 40 months of a grave incident. Is this not a sign of the collapse of the administrative system, loopholes in the judicial system and vulnerability of Armed Forces who had been kept waiting when the culprits would face sentence. Unfortunately, Pakistan inherited its judicial, political and bureaucratic structures from colonialism, along with a mindset fundamentally designed for oppression. As a byproduct, Pakistan has accumulated a plethora of dysfunctionalities. The Western concept of democracy and human rights advocates the much-celebrated definition of government “by the people, for the people.” Yet this concept has never provided the slightest resemblance to the reality of Pakistani democracy, where political power is primarily treated by a few as a divine right to rule interchangeably. The May 9 Black Day was a brutal reality check for many, including the Pakistan Army. For the first time, the Army might had realized that while it could be a powerful institution militarily, it had no real control or authority to intervene in the administrative and political domains. Meanwhile, the civilian structure kept providing time to the culprits to enjoy parliamentary privileges instead of being in jail, where they should have been.
The Pakistan Army, which was a victim of the May 9 vandalism, had to wait 40 months to receive justice. Even now, justice has not been delivered fully because the convicts have the right to approach higher courts and seek a review or appeal against their sentences.
After the May 9 attacks, the involvement of one political party was silently accepted by other political parties, and all pretended as if the incident was merely a matter between the Pakistan Army and the agitators and that the Army would handle it. Even after three years, many of the culprits remain free and continue waging a narrative war against the Army and government is talking about dialogue with a party —PTI that attacked military installations and monuments of martyrs. Is it not unfortunate reality?
