The lawmakers of major political parties on Tuesday
announced that they had agreed to reinstate military courts for another
two years.
Talking to media after a meeting of
parliamentary leaders, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said those
present at the meeting had agreed on a two-year extension for military
courts.
The meeting, however, was not attended by leaders
of the PPP, who had earlier called a multi-party conference on March 4
to discuss the matter with other politicians.
Dar, however, expressed hope that the PPP will support the
decision after their conference, and that the decision will be agreed on
in a parliamentary session scheduled for March 6.
Qureshi
told media that support for the reinstatement of the controversial
courts had been given because it is "the need of the hour."
Military
courts have been an issue of conflict between the government and the
opposition. The primary concern of critics is the mystery surrounding
military court trials: no-one knows who the convicts are, what charges
have been brought against them, or what the accused's defence is against
the allegations levelled.
"The parties have agreed that
the conditions [in the country] are still unusual. Circumstances
threatening Pakistan's integrity are still prevalent. We have all agreed
on this and there is a need for the extension."
He said
that after the two years are over, however, cases pending in military
courts would be transferred back to anti-terrorism courts.
The
PTI leader further said an implementation plan will be formed and
signed by all parliamentary leaders to ensure that the government is
bound to whatever agreement is finally inked.
"The
implementation plan will be formed so that two years later we do not
return to this stage to discuss [another] extension in military courts,"
he said.
He added that a parliamentary committee will be formed to oversee the process of the extension and will meet once a month.
Qureshi
maintained that reinstating military courts was not a preferred
solution; adding that it was due to "capacity limitations" that the
government had to seek the assistance of Rangers and Army.
"The
world over, the police battles terror, and laws are formed to this
effect. Our normal legal situation should address terrorism as well."
Commenting
on the matter, Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Farooq Sattar said:
"No steps were taken for the success of the military courts or to better
the performance of the anti-terrorism courts."
Former
interior minister and Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Sherpao hoped this
would be the last time an extension was sought for military courts. "We
don’t believe that giving an extension to military courts over and over
is a good thing."
"In two years, we hope that the
government will take the required steps and ensure military courts do
not have to be extended again,” Sherpao added.
The 21st
Amendment under which military tribunals were established expired in
January 2017 after a two-year sunset clause contained in the legislation
took effect.
Published in Daily Dawn Date 28-02-2017
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
0 comments:
Post a Comment