Parliamentary leaders agree on two-year extension for military courts

Parliamentary leaders on Tuesday agreed to extend the tenure of military courts for two years.

“The issue of the extension of military courts has been resolved,” Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rasheed said while addressing the media. “All political parties have agreed on the extension of military courts for two years,” he added.

He further stated that the extension will be accorded from January 7, 2017, and after two years, the cases will be transferred to anti-terrorism courts.

“Despite our differences with PML-N, we have agreed on the extension of military courts in greater national interest, said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi. 

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the draft will be presented to the parliament on March 6. He also said that all parties should avoid indulging in politics on the respective issue.

The military courts had been established in the country through a constitutional amendment in the backdrop of the gory incident of Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014. Courts were established in January 2015 for a period of two years. They ceased to function in January 2017 upon expiry of the two-year term.

Recently, the government – which wants to revive the military courts for another term spanning over three years – has proposed a constitutional amendment.

However, the opposition parties – who were initially in favour of the extension – later refused to adopt the draft constitutional amendment after the government introduced some changes to it. The opposition parties want the extension in military courts for a period not exceeding a year-and-a-half rather than the three years proposed in the government’s draft.

Another point of serious contention among government and opposition parties is a proposed amendment to Article 175 (3) which according to some opposition parties could be used in future by the military to victimise political workers.