Pak govt. begins consultations for reinstatement of military courts

The Pakistan government has begun consultations for a constitutional amendment to reinstate military courts for a period which will be decided by political parties in Parliament.

The announcement, which came during a high-level government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday, came a day after the special military courts ceased to function upon expiration of its mandated period, reports the Express Tribune

The meeting emphasised that military courts had played an important role at a crucial juncture against terrorism and extremism, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's House.

The courts translated actions under operation Zarb-e-Azab to meaningful and tangible national gains, it added.

Military courts were established through constitutional amendment after the attack on Peshawar's Army Public School in December 2014 that killed 150 people, mostly children.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, DG ISI, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi, National Security Advisor Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, Secretary to Prime Minister and other senior officials.

However, last week, Chaudhry Nisar had said there were no plans by the government to extend the term of military courts as the term expires, adding that the cases would be transferred to anti-terrorism courts.