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| India-Pakistan |
| Qadri's case |
| 2015-01-27 |
| [DAWN] THE difficulties the police in this country face in gathering evidence, and prosecutors in mounting a strong case, are seen as the primary reason why so many suspects implicated in all sorts of crimes walk free. Consider the case of Mumtaz Qadri, who was sentenced on Oct 1, 2011 by an Anti-Terrorism Court and shortly afterwards filed an appeal. The evidence against Qadri, who openly confessed when charged with the gunning down in January that year of the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... governor, Salmaan Taseer, could not be more incontrovertible. But, more than three years after a guilty verdict, the case is still pending due to the appeal against Qadri's sentence. Qadri has, meanwhile, set himself up as a 'religious' figure, and there is evidence that he has radicalised others including prison staff. Now, with another hearing scheduled before an Islamabad High Court division bench, it seems that the government is having difficulties getting a lawyer to agree to represent the prosecution. Why this reluctance in what is an open-and-shut case? The reason is simple: fear. Lawyers contacted by this newspaper pointed out that hardly any special protection or security is provided to those who may find themselves in the crosshairs of criminals or forces of Evil on agreeing to take flashpoint cases. The special judge of the ATC that passed the sentence against Qadri had to leave the country for fear of his life, and at the last hearing of the Qadri case in 2011, large numbers of his supporters gathered outside the IHC. The threat is real, and society's tilt towards extreme views is palpable. If this is the situation in this case, the fear factor in others where the men accused belong to violent gangs or bully boy groups, or are hardened criminals, can only be imagined. Pakistain's situation demands effective provisions such as witness, lawyer and judge protection programmes, for those who prosecute or testify are in the end individuals. Without that, there is little hope of winning the long-term battle. |
| Posted by:Fred |