Pakistan has exhibited lackadaisical measures to stem terrorism. This has resulted in the country’s negative reputation of being a coddler of terrorists. Ergo, a hotbed of terrorism. India calls this treatment as ‘catch and release’ approach to the problem. Pakistan just goes through the motions of temporary detentions and light prosecutions, and then releases the suspects after a few months. Is Pakistan really a coddler of terrorists or is it just a case of gross ineptness?

Pakistan may yet be harboring another secret, though. The country has its own secret prisons system, much like the US Guantanamo. The prosecutions that happen in open courts may not necessarily be the only way as to how terrorists are being investigated while under lock and key. The Army and the I.S.I are said to be running an anti-terrorism campaign that is not known to the public and with no judicial ties.

That is why Pakistan has had a reputation for loose criminal justice system. Its intelligence arm sounds nefarious itself, sort of underground and vigilante in nature. So long as the pillars of the justice system are not brought up to the surface where proceedings are apparent to all, Pakistan will remain hogging a bad rep of a Third World country where justice is only aspirational. Terrorists exist in Pakistan, either using the country as their half-way point or comfortable lair. It is entirely up to the country to process the stigma that close association with terrorists has brought to it. For starters, it can overhaul its anti-criminality ranks and imbue them with credibility for a change.

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Via The New Yorker