Pakistan Military Courts Illegal

By Kathy Gannon
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, February 17, 1999; 5:36 a.m. EST

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's Supreme Court declared its newly established military courts illegal today, depriving the government of a tool to reduce spiraling crime and sparing 14 people from death sentences.

``The establishment of military courts for the trial of civilians ... are declared unconstitutional, without lawful authority and of no legal effect,'' said the judgment of the seven-member Supreme Court.

Pakistan's constitution does not allow a Supreme Court ruling to be appealed. However, Attorney General Chaudhry Farooq said the government can ask the judges to review their judgment.

``Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will meet his Cabinet, colleagues and party members before making a decision of whether to apply for a review,'' Farooq told The Associated Press.

The government set up the courts in November in the violence-wracked Sindh province to try to fight crime by implementing quick justice.

Cases before the military courts generally take less than two weeks to complete, compared to the months and sometimes years in the civilian judicial system. Defendants are given a court-appointed attorney who is not allowed to call witnesses.

Human rights groups, lawyers and opposition parties have criticized the army-run courts as unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court order demanded that all cases before the military courts be transferred to Pakistan's special anti-terrorist courts.

The Pakistan Army, however, said the courts will continue to operate until it receives an order from either the Supreme Court or the government to shut down.

``The military courts are still in progress,'' said Col. Ashfaq Hussain, an army spokesman.

The Muttaheda Qami Movement, a small ethnic party that dominates in southern Sindh province, accused the government of using the courts to target its members.

It was the MQM, which represents Urdu-speaking Muslims, that challenged the legality of the courts.

``It is good news,'' Ehsanullah Khan, an MQM legislator in the Sindh provincial parliament, said of the judgment.

Last month the government announced it would establish similar military courts throughout the country.

Three people already have been executed in Sindh province after being convicted by the army-run courts. In January, the Supreme Court had ordered all death sentences suspended until it ruled on the legality of the courts.

The government argued that the crime rate had dropped substantially since the courts began operating in Karachi, the Sindh provincial capital.

© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press