"The suicide passes a judgement. Society does not care to examine the judgement, but in defence of itself as is, condemns the suicide," wrote Robert E Neale in his famous The Art of Dying. These remarks present a sardonic comment on the present-day Pakistan where judgements are being made on military courts without examining the events that preceded the constitution of courts for speedy trial of terrorists. That extraordinary situations warrant extraordinary solutions is not something that cannot be appreciated by all and sundry. The prime minister has overly tried to justify the decision in relation to the setting up of military courts, which is not a smart move. The passage of the 21st Constitutional Amendment has been owned by more than a two-thirds majority of the parliament. Even those who are opposing its passage had not voted against it; they just abstained. The prime minister, in particular, is required to show a lot of maturity and prudence while expressing his thoughts on this issue. In a nutshell, this country needed military courts.