Daily Times

Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa Wednesday said that multi-pronged approach is needed to defeat the scourge of militancy and terrorism in the country.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of research study on ‘Impact of Militancy on Administration of Justice in former FATA and PATA’ held at the Federal Judicial Academy, the chief justice, while enlightening the audience with the history of militancy and terrorism in different countries around the globe, said, “Militancy is a form of terrorism and since time immemorial it has existed in one or another form in various parts of the world and civilians have been victims of terror acts. But the question is: how it was tackled in those troubled spots? What steps were taken by those countries and nations? We must have to learn from others who defeated the terrorists. We need to rethink our strategies to deal with it in a more successful manner.”

Apprising the audience on the subject, the chief justice also read out extracts from a judgment of Supreme Court of Pakistan in order to tackle the scourge of militancy and terrorism in an effective manner. He also quoted a few inspiring lessons from a book titled “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” written by bestseller author Yuval Noah Harari.

Regarding the importance and scope of research culture, the chief justice said, “Without research, there is no progress and with no progress there is no learning. It really augurs well that our judicial officers have undertaken research on a very important topic. This research will make them more analytical in their approach.” “Research should always be original. It should always be conducted on the area and also in close contact with the people who are subject matter of the research in question. It should not be academic and bookish,” the chief justice remarked.

Sounding his optimism, the chief justice hoped that this research will enhance the competency and professionalism of judges who have conducted it and a mechanism will be developed to push forward the suggestions and recommendations. On the occasion, the chief justice also unveiled the publication comprising seven chapters.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected reports that Chief Justice Khosa had issued any directions to the special court hearing General (r) Musharraf’s high treason case. New reports started circulating on Tuesday that CJP Khosa had held an informal meeting with the Press Association of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and discussed the case. “Musharraf’s was an open-and-shut case and he was given multiple opportunities to defend himself. These people wanted to prolong the matter. The case was decided despite attempts to delay it,” some media outlets had quoted the chief justice as saying in the alleged informal meeting. According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the apex court rejected the reports, saying some misleading and out-of-context news items were aired/published by different TV channels and newspapers without identifying any source, attributing these to the chief justice. It stated that the chief justice had not issued any directions to the special court.