Can the planned mass executions of convicted terrorists stem the flow of innocent blood in our country? Retribution from the State after Peshawar has been a variety of actions. Defence Minister Khwaja Asif on Friday stated that military courts were being established for trials of cases relating to terrorism. Eleven soldiers had lost their lives in the Oct 10, 2009 attack on the army's General Headquarter. Dr Usman, an army doctor, who was caught injured during the Oct 10 raid on the army headquarters by militants, was sentenced to death in 2011 and is now to be hanged. The army chief Raheel Sharif has demanded the Afghan government to extradite the head of the TTP, Mullah Fazlullah. Pakistan military has issues statements claiming it has carried out 20 airstrikes in Northwest Pakistan in past 30 hours; killing 57 terrorists. A lot is happening, very fast, and the government is responding to popular pressure. But we cannot be uncritical at this time; we cannot let our emotions get the best of us. Was the intelligence new, was it accurate? How do we know they were 57 militants and not suspected militants? Are these figures being pumped into the narrative to appease a blood thirsty public? It's a bad time to be sceptical of the armed forces but they've just given us too much reason to be sceptical in the past. Have we given any thought to the death penalty, and what it means for human rights? Have we forgotten the people who have lost lives and homes in North Waziristan? We have no eyes on the ground, and we never will. We are in the hands of the military, and we must trust them, we have no choice. They are going after the militant groups that have turned against the state, but have always wanted to eliminate some and preserve some for the future. This has to change.
Can the system really change? Can justice be done? Does the accused get a fair trial and access to due process? As an attorney in 2007, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui represented and helped bail out Maulana Abdul Aziz who was charged in multiple cases in connection with the Lal Masjid standoff. He is the lawyer seen in pictures kissing Mumtaz Qadri after the murder of Salmaan Taseer. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's appointment as Islamabad High Court judge was agreed to by President Zardari after a Supreme Court Justice threatened to hold the President in contempt. This is just one example of the complex corruption in our justice system and prevalence of the sick mind-set that celebrates murderers. The problem is not about death penalties for captured Taliban, or security lapses, or Nawaz Sharif. Who protects outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and why? Why is Hafiz Saeed allowed to declare jihad against India? This is the problem right here.