(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) JI JUI-F abstain as both houses approve bill with two-thirds majority googletag.
Islamabad: The parliament on Tuesday passed legislation allowing military courts to try insurgents one of several measures aimed at clamping down on terrorist attacks after Taleban gunmen massacred 134 children at Army Public School in Peshawar last month.
With the unanimous vote of all lawmakers present in the National Assembly (Lower House) and the Senate the bill secured a two-thirds majority it required.
The law is now expected to be signed into law by the president this week.
First the National Assembly approved the 21st Constitutional Amendment unopposed to provide cover to the formation of military courts for speedy trial of terrorists after accommodating objections by religious parties.
A total of 245 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the law aimed to set up constitutionally-protected military courts to try civilian terrorism suspects said NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
Members of the National Assembly belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) abstained from voting.
The two bills — the Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) — were expected to have been passed on Monday earlier but voting was deferred after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman declared his party would not vote for the amendment despite his earlier commitment at the all parties conference last week.
Fazl said religious parties apprehend that the amendment would pave the way for a crackdown on religious madrassas amid concerted campaign that many of them have become breeding grounds for terrorists and suicide bombers. The government is also probing the foreign sources of funding to certain religious institutions.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Ahmed Shah delivered the opening speech of the session during which he said that “We have not been in favour of military courts in the past but the Pakistani public’s safety is our priority and it is the governments responsibility to keep the masses safe in this country.”
Shah said: “Parliament is going to vote to save Pakistan. The bitter pill of this new law is being swallowed for the security of Pakistan. Murdering one person is like killing the entire humanity” Shah said. “It doesn’t matter if the person is from grammar school Aitchison or a government school — there will be no difference between any terrorist.”
It was earlier expected that the Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Bill tabled in the House on Saturday at military’s behest would steer quickly without much ado after it was exempted from scrutiny by a House standing committee soon after its introduction so it could go to the Senate on Tuesday.
The prime minister hosted a sumptuous breakfast on Tuesday morning for lawmakers to ensure the requisite two-thirds majority would vote in both Houses of the Parliament to adopt the bill.
The brief constitution amendment bill meant to remain in force for up to two years refers twice in its preamble to perceived “terrorist groups using the name of religion or a sect” threatening Pakistan’s security or “raising arms and insurgency”. Fazl objected to these words saying these would be misused against religious institutions.
The PPP leadership’s decision to go along with the government in amending the constitution to pave the way for military courts came under severe criticism at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary party held here on Monday.
newskhaleejtimes.com
(With inputs from Reuters)
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