Pak Parliament 'strongly' endorses bill to set up military courts for speedy trial of terror suspects

Both the upper and the lower houses of the Pakistani Parliament have strongly endorsed the establishment of military courts to facilitate speedy trial of terror suspects by passing the 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill 2015 and the Pakistan Army Act 1952 (Amendment) Bill 2015 with an overwhelming majority.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed unopposed in the National Assembly with 247 voting in favour of the law. It received 14 votes more than the required two-thirds majority. In the Senate, 78 lawmakers in a house of 104 backed the bill, reported The Express Tribune.

However, mainstream political parties like, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) abstained from voting.

The amendment bill, aimed at speeding up trial of terrorists, came in the aftermath of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack in Peshawar that killed over a hundred children on December 16, 2014.

The bills were moved separately by Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Pervaiz Rashid in the house, which passed them after making some amendments.

The provisions of the two bills will remain effective for a period of two years from the date of their promulgation. The deadline can only be extended by a resolution passed by both houses of parliament.

The bill will become an act after presidential assent.