Benazir Bhutto assassination case be tried in military court: Rehman Malik

Former Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik Friday said that the Supreme Court should order the hearing of the Benazir Bhutto assassination case on a day-to-day basis and in a military court if needed.

"It is requested to apex court to hear Benazir Bhutto assassination case on day-to-day basis and give decision on it as soon as possible. If government needs so, then Benazir Bhutto murder case should also be tried in military cour," he said at a press conference outside parliament house, The Nation reported.

He said military courts have been set up to gear up trial in terror related cases.

A bill will be passed in the parliament to give military courts a legal shape.

A parliamentary committee will oversee the military courts. Politicians have charted out a mid-path for hearing terror-related cases by lending support to military courts, he added.

"Military courts do not mean that we don't trust on other courts of the country, but these have been set up to accelerate the pace of trial in terror related cases. The terrorist cases can be tried in civil courts, sessions court and high court if security is provided to judges, prosecutors and witnesses," Malik added.

Judges and witnesses are killed in broad daylight, therefore, security should be provided to them, he demanded.

Stating that the links of the Dec 16, Peshawar school carnage goes to Afghanistan, he said Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) Fazlullah monitored the Peshawar tragedy and gave instructions to the perpatrators of the attack, Malik said.

He stressed that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani should hand over Moulvi Fazlullah to Pakistan within 24 hours. The role being played by army in these hard times was highly commendable, Malik remarked.

He underlined that concessions be extended to backward areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. If jobs are provided to jobless persons there, then terrorism can scale down.