–Country cannot afford ongoing conditions for five years
–Economic turmoil not due to 18th amendment and NFC
LAHORE: Talking to the media on Monday, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the only democratic way to extend the military courts’ working period is to convene a parliamentary session on the matter. He alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan is violating the constitution and that his government has paralyzed the National Assembly.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that if the government wants to extend the special courts time-period, then it should convince the opposition of their necessity.
The government, which has already decided in principle to give another extension to the military courts for two more years, is still struggling to seek the cooperation of the op
position parties over the issue as it does not have the required two-thirds majority in any of the two houses of the Parliament to carry out the constitutional amendment for the purpose.
He justified his demand by aligning it with the National Action Plan (NAP). “The previous extension, given under our government, was done according to the NAP, our stance is still the same” Abbasi said.
The military courts that had been set up under the NAP in 2015 to try civilians on terrorism charges finally ceased to function on as their second two-year constitutional term expired on Sunday.
While commenting on the national economy, Abbasi said “The national economy is sliding into bankruptcy, but this is not due to the 18th Amendment or the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
Rather, he argued that the government should convene a meeting of the NFC and resolve all grievances of the provinces and that the opposition will review all the steps taken by Imran Khan till now and take a joint stance on the matter.
Concluding his remarks, he said that the country cannot afford the ongoing conditions for the next five years and his party will support any decision that will be for the betterment of the country.
