ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal information minister Pervaiz Rasheed has said that the recent amendments in the Constitution for setting up military courts to try terrorists have been made in light of religious decrees.
In a statement, the minister said that religious decrees were issued by Imam Khana-e-Kaaba, Imam Masjid-e-Nabvi, Jamia-tul-Azhar and Pakistani religious scholars for eliminating terrorism.
The information minister said that terrorists use name of religion which makes life of peaceful Muslims across the world miserable.
Rasheed stressed that law of military courts was limited to specific crimes and for specific period.
The 21st Constitutional amendment and the amendment in the Pakistan Army Act 1952 came into effect on Wednesday after being signed by President Mamnoon Hussain and getting unanimous approval from the parliament a day before.
The amendments were aimed at trial of terrorists in the country through special courts headed by military officers for a period of two years.
However addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the recent the Constitutional amendments were a collective suicide attack on democracy by parliamentary parties.
The JUI-F chief said that his party had certain concerns after the amendments made in the Constitution.
Fazl further said that constitutional experts should be consulted so that the cons of this amendment can be put forward, and the nation is given an explanation based on rationale and not emotions.
