south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015

NEW AG EN T S OF GLOB AL JIHAD
to ensure that the state retains the power to try the most serious
offenders. Transferring more minor cases to the traditional system
will relieve pressure on the justice sector, and help prevent cases
of detention without trial. Culturally, this may not be easy given
that customs such as Pashtunwali allow lethal violence as
retribution. However, traditional justice practitioners have
expressed a desire to be more closely linked to the state, 108 and if
effective links between formal and informal justice were
established in the isolated and troubled regions of FATA and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it would be a valuable step towards greater
state integration. Nonetheless, more research will be vital to assess
how the Pakistani dual justice system might work. Examples of
post-conflict nations that have implemented dual justice systems,
such as Liberia, can demonstrate the benefits of such a system, and
inform the challenges they face. Local justice could potentially be
state-subsidised, so as to give local authority systems an incentive
to work against terror networks rather than with them. Powerful
anti-corruption measures would have to accompany any
government subsidies, in order to protect the integrity of the
traditional system.
The low conviction rate for terror in Pakistan is partly due to
judicial fear of reprisal from militant groups; therefore, efforts
should be made to improve the safety and security of these state
institutions.
Another important area to focus on is in prisons and prison care:
a) In Pakistan, 92,000 prisoners share 41,000 prison places, 109 and
juvenile and adult, as well as minor and hardened or politically
motivated criminals are often mixed. There are few staff, and
there is frequent mistreatment and torture. Therefore, state
support and recognition of traditional justice is further
recommended.
b) The government’s recent successes in fighting domestic
militancy have produced 4,000 additional inmates, 3,700 of
which are thought to be affiliated with either AQ or the
Taliban. 110 Militants represent the fastest growing part of the
Pakistani prison population, making overcrowding worse and
exposing non-radical inmates to increasing numbers of battlehardened
jihadists. 111 As such, sending less serious cases for
trial by traditional justice will speed up the process, meaning an
offender’s punishment will not include disproportionate time in
prison while they wait for trial, and there will be less exposure
to radical militants.
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