ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The voting on two government bills including the Constitution (21st Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill will take place in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The bills are aimed at bringing amendments in the Constitution and Pakistan Army Act 1952 to pave the way for establishment of military courts for speedy trial of terrorists.
In his address on the floor of the lower house of the parliament on Monday, the federal interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that the military courts are being established because Pakistan is passing through an extraordinary situation requiring extraordinary measures.
The interior minister reminded that after 9/11 incident, the United States also set up special courts to tackle the situation.
The minister while recalling some of the most horrific incidents of terror in Quetta, Karachi, Wagah Border and Peshawar, said that the entire nation is united on the issue on terrorism. He said that the people want to end terrorism once and for all.
Chaudhry Nisar underscored that special courts will be set up for a limited period of time and these would not be used against civilians.
The minister said that if the federal government, provincial governments, parliament, and the army unite, then Pakistan will be able to overcome the problem of terrorism.
The interior minister said that a counter-terrorism helpline has been setup where citizens can notify authorities if they witness suspicious activities. He said that the masses also need to come together and play their role to combat terrorism.
The minister assured that cases will be referred to the special courts after minute scrutiny and the terrorists would also get an opportunity of defence during trial.
Nisar said that the law relating to setting up of Special Courts would not be a draconian piece of legislation as Army Act is there for years and mostly servicemen have been tried under it.
In addition, he said that a meeting of media representatives and representatives of religious seminaries would also be convened to seek their cooperation for elimination of extremism and militancy.
JUI-F not in favor of 21st Constitutional Amendment: Fazl
Earlier talking to media representatives in Islamabad on Monday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that his party will not support the 21st Constitutional Amendment bill in its current state.
“Although we were not in support of this (military courts) in principle, we accepted them when the government and state institutions said that it was an extraordinary situation. But we were not taken into confidence when the draft for the constitutional amendment was prepared,” Fazl said.
“We believe that strict measure should be taken to control terrorism in Pakistan. But if only religious institutions are targeted, then it becomes controversial,” the JUI-F Chief said.
