ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Finally political impasse over the extension of Military Courts came to an end on Tuesday as the Parliamentary leaders including of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) agreed on revival of Military Courts for further two years.
The consensus was reached in a meeting of Parliamentary leaders from major political parties in Islamabad.
However, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) didn’t take part in the meeting, and it would convene an All-Party Conference (APC) on Saturday to discuss the reinstatement of the Military Courts.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the process to reinstate the Military Courts would require amendments in the Constitution and the relevant law; therefore, sessions of both the Senate and the National Assembly were being convened.
Ishaq Dar said that the Senate would meet on Friday while the session of the National Assembly would be called on March 6.
The finance minister said that the decision regarding the revival of Military Courts was taken with consensus. The minister hoped that the PPP would also take a decision as per requirements of the Country.
The minister also thanked all political parties for extending their cooperation on the issue of revival of Military Courts.
The PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that all political parties including PPP were convinced that the Country was passing through extraordinary circumstances and Military Courts were need of the hour.
Qureshi said that there was no disagreement on revival of Military Courts in view of the given situation but parties only wanted a mechanism to ensure that there was no need for further extension in future.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that a decision was taken to constitute a Parliamentary Oversight Committee which would see to it that the government stuck to the timelines envisaged in the amendment. He said that the Committee would meet once every two months.
The Military Courts were established for two years under the 21st Constitutional amendment following the December 2014 army public school Peshawar’s attack. In January this month, the Military Courts ceased to function after their term ended.
