Terrorist : Malik Ishaq: A threat to society

EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMES


The release orders of notorious Malik Ishaq, chief of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), given by a review board of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has raised questions once again about the efficacy of our legal and prosecution systems. The man is a well-known criminal nominated in 44 cases of 70 sectarian killings, an alleged mastermind of many high profile attacks, including an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, murder of the MQM MPA Raza Haider and the Mastung massacre. Despite confessing to his crimes in the courtyard of a court and threats in public to witnesses and prosecutors dealing with his cases, Malik Ishaq has continued his terrorist activities with impunity even from the jail where he spent 14 years facing charges related to murder and other terrorist acts. Out of 44 cases, the courts acquitted him in 34 cases, regrettably, on lack of sufficient evidence while granting bail in the rest. He was set free in July 2011. He was subsequently put under house arrest for a little while but violated the conditions set against his free movement several times. On Friday, a review board of the LHC refused to extend his detention, requested by the DPO Rahim Yar Khan under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, as preventive detention has a time limit. On the very same day, he was nominated in an FIR registered against his alleged involvement in the recent Khanpur blast killing 18 Shias. Malik Ishaq’s inflammatory speeches and involvement in sectarian homicide, clashes and violence against the Shia community have been creating havoc across the country since long. This man is a continuous threat to society but the judiciary does not seem to appreciate this. To be fair, there are several lacunae in the Anti-Terrorism Act and our laws, which seem to have facilitated criminals. A labyrinthine legal system coupled with a faulty prosecution regime, which lacks the capacity and training to investigate properly and collect adequate evidence necessary to prove its case against terrorists, not only fail to stop this menace but shift the burden onto witnesses, who refuse to appear before the courts due to threats from those they seek to depose against, in the absence of a witness protection programme. In many cases against Malik Ishaq, witnesses have been intimidated and even killed.

There is a need to understand that terrorists like Malik Ishaq are not ordinary criminals. They are fanatics, motivated and well organised hardcore terrorists who even enjoy a soft corner in a section of our political class. To get rid of them, political will is crucially needed to improve the whole justice system to a level where they cannot go scot-free.