ISLAMABAD: The legal fraternity has finally come into action after the Supreme Court Bar Association rejected the extension of military courts on Thursday.
The President of the SCBA, Rashid A Rizvi, expressed that there was no real opportunity for a fair trial under military courts. Saying military courts were an ineffective shortcut, he urged the government to introduce much needed reforms in the criminal justice system rather than relying on military courts.
The establishment of military courts in the country had come as an emergency measure after the 2014 Army Public School terror attack. Coming into enforcement in January 2015, the courts were due to become defunct in January 2017 after a period of 2 years.
Recently, parliamentary leaders of major political parties had agreed to the extension on the military courts. In a near complete multipartisan effort, all majors parties other than the PPP had agreed to extending the courts for two more years after which their cases will be handed over to the anti-terrorism courts.
The PPP had opposed the extension saying it was necessary to have an All parties conference to decide the matter, and the opposition of the SCBA seems to be another major rejection of the courts.