KARACHI – Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said after holding PPP’s all parties’ conference that a draft will be presented after consultation with legal experts regarding the extension of military courts, as political parties could not reach a consensus in this regard.
Bilawal said no consensus was reached on the extension of military courts, and that a final decision will be taken after consultation with legal experts.
He said that they have reservations about military courts and opposed to their restoration for further two years.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) did not attend the conference, while the ruling PML-N was not given an invitation.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed of the Awami Muslim League (AML), Aftab Ahmed Sherpao of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), and other heads of political parties present in the meeting.
Bilawal Bhutto added that matters, including integration of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) were also discussed in the meeting.
Military courts had been suspended this year on January 7. No consensus was reached between the government and the opposition on an extension in their tenure despite frequent meetings on the issue.
On Feb 28, however, the majority of the political parties in power except PPP agreed to give an extension of two years to the military courts.
