When politics surpasses laws of justice, there is little to no respect for the judicial procedure or for judicial principles and norms. Pakistan has remained the victim of worst forms of terrorism for past many years now and the reasons behind this extreme terrorism faced by our country could be extended to many different aspects but the forces behind this extreme terrorism has more or less remained the same- the pretentious Islamic extremists or militants. Some of these extremists have been categorized into more organized formation of bloc known as Talibans.
With years of army operation and open war with Talibans, that has more or less failed to bring peace to the country, Pakistani government has now sought the means of making peace with these so called jihadis by extending the invitation of open talks and peace meetings. It is with no doubt that peace can be made through dialogues and talks and that force is no real solution for long term sustainable peace however, the real issue is not whether talks be made with these Talibans or not, the real issue is to predetermine the roadmap of carrying these talks. The whole structure of talks should be decided in a well objective manner and a real in-depth analysis be done of the terms and conditions of both parties of these peace talks since it is the matter of extreme sensitivity for the entire country. Any hasty or ill-informed decision during these peace talks could affect the country adversely and seriously jeopardize the future progress of Pakistan.
And there it was, the decision to release Taliban commanders without any judicial procedure, without taking any consideration that these culprits have been arrested in suspicion and on charges of mass murders, murders being carried out in the most sensitive places like girls’ schools, hospitals, markets, and even funerals! How can these top commanders of Talibans be released who have took away so much from this country and left so many mourning families who have not just been deprived of their precious family members but have also been robbed off from the very fundamental right to justice.
One prime example of facilitating peace talks on the cost of robbing hundreds of victims off their justice rights hit us in the face when a week ago Pakistan released the most senior Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Baradar on Saturday. He was released to encourage peace talks with Taliban. The commander Abdul Ghani Baradar is second in command after the supreme commander Mullah Omar and he is also the right hand of Mullah Omar.
Pakistan Foreign office also said that “Baradar’s release would facilitate Afghanistan’s reconciliation process with the Taliban as a Nato combat mission there winds down.”
Yes, peacemaking is our prime interest right now but how can our government justify the release of Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Baradar along with the release of Pakistani Taliban commanders, all of whom were facing serious murder charges and have now been released without any judicial process or without taking in consideration the repercussions of these decisions.
What fruits would be borne by these peace talks is yet to be seen however, the way these peace talks are progressing poses serious questions on the supremacy of law in this country.
