Military trials of civilians -- a critical juncture for Pakistani democracy

Rida Hosain tells the tale ably here in Dawn. Excerpt:

Thus, government representatives have been given a say in selecting the judges who will sit on the Constitutional Bench. Litigants cannot choose their own judges. It is destructive for judicial independence for the government to be given such a power in the selection of judges to hear constitutional cases. There is a real risk that the government representatives on the commission will select judges they perceive as sympathetic to the government to sit on the Constitutional Bench.

The irony here is that it is the federal government that defended the trial of civilians by military courts; it is also the federal government that appealed the decision declaring military courts for civilians unconstitutional. It would, therefore, be completely inconsistent with judicial independence for the federal government to have a say in the judges that will hear constitutional cases to which it is a party.

Amid all the tussle between the power corridors and the judiciary, what is most unfortunate is that a year after the historic decision declaring military courts for civilians unconstitutional, civilians in military custody still await justice. These civilians are not in judicial custody. They do not have a right to apply to the court for bail. Their freedom and liberty are entirely dependent on the fate of the appeal.

Pakistani democracy hangs in the balance.