ICST backs govt’s move to extend tenure of military courts

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Thursday said business community fully supports the government move to extend the tenure of military courts.

The military courts have played a central role in discouraging terrorists and making Pakistan a safe country; therefore, these courts deserve a new lease of life, it said. The political parties that supported military courts in the past are now opposing the same for petty political gains exposing the national security to risks, said ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt. He said that terrorism has been reduced substantially, but such elements still exist; therefore, it is necessary that the military courts continue their function.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that some politicians are using the issue of military courts to gain political mileage which is not going down well with the masses. Soldiers have suffered a lot in the war against terrorists, and they still feel pride in sacrificing their lives for the country while masses also want quick and harsh punishments for extremists.

Justifying the military’s involvement in civilian judicial matters, he noted that the military courts should continue unless the civil justice system is fully reformed and made effective enough to meet the challenges confronted by the country. The military courts set up through a political consensus under NAP in 2015 had delivered and even the Supreme Court had upheld the establishment of these courts.