RAWALPINDI: Military courts, which awarded death penalty to 161 terrorists and imprisonment of varying duration to 113 criminals, have ceased to function on expiry of mandated period, ARY News reported.
The military courts were established through constitutional amendment in the environment of heightened terrorism. This law had expired on December 31, 2016.
An Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said routine judicial system was under stress, whereas judicial set ups / judges were also subjected to act of terrorism. Therefore, special constitutional arrangements were made to effectively check the terrorism.
“During the period of its validity, 274 cases were referred to the military courts. Of these, 161 were awarded death penalty and 113 were awarded imprisonment of varying duration,” said the statement.
ISPR said the cases were dealt through due process of law in the military courts. The disposal through military courts has yielded positive effects towards reduction in terrorists’ activities. The military courts have ceased to function on expiry of mandated period.
Read More: Law allowing military courts to try suspects on terror charges expires
Lawmakers amended the constitution in January 2015, responding to an attack by Pakistani Taliban fighters on a military-run Army Public School in Peshawar that killed scores of children but inserted an expiry clause to keep the measure temporary.
According to media reports, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said no proposals were under consideration at the moment with regards to a renewal amendment of the military courts since they were created for two years only.
