THE death penalty is a needlessly cruel punishment that not only fails to deter crime and terrorism but is also an inhumane measure for any civilised country. Since Pakistan lifted the moratorium on executions after the APS Peshawar attack in December 2014, 480 prisoners have been put to death — juveniles and mentally and physically handicapped prisoners included. Despite the populist narrative that capital punishment counters terrorism, only 16pc of those executed have been convicted of terrorism by anti-terrorism courts, according to Justice Project Pakistan. In its report, Trial and Terror: the Overreach of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, JJP documents the fundamental weaknesses in the anti-terrorism legislation including an unclear definition of terrorism, extraordinary policing powers, increased risk of torture and coerced confessions. With 86.3pc of those sentenced to death convicted for non-terrorism offences, it is obvious that ATCs are not only trying terrorists. Because there’s a difference between trying ‘jet-black’ terrorists and criminals that fall outside this description, the scope of the definition of terrorism must be amended so that only crimes pertaining to militancy are tried under the ATA. Salient criticisms against the ATA include depriving litigants of quality legal representation and fair trial, executing prisoners before their appeals process is completed, hanging juveniles and sending the physically handicapped to the gallows — all underscore the need for rethinking the law’s application and efficacy.

The impact of ATCs on juvenile offenders is one of its most egregious violations. Underage delinquents are often deprived of procedural safeguards. With at least six juveniles executed to date (such as Aftab Bahadur who was convicted when he was only 15), these courts must not have the power to try underage offenders. Senator Farhatullah Babar encapsulates the most compelling reason for juvenile cases not to be tried in ATCs: “The rush to carry out executions is a reaffirmation of the truth that the state does not care about people’s lives and is least concerned about how they die.” Moreover, many of those that JJP interviewed alleged suffering police torture; more than half of them said they were illegally detained and tortured before being formally charged. Confessions in police custody must be inadmissible as evidence. Our message for the state is that when it sanctions executions, it is not only abusing the true spirit of justice, it is also showing apathy towards human rights.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2017