ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet, in its last meeting, cleared 29 new terrorism-related cases to be sent to the military courts, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said.
The approval comes a day after the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa wrote a demi-official (DO) letter to explain the issue prior to it being referred officially, sources said. The source added that these cases had been pending with the federal cabinet for approval since July. Ahsan Iqbal confirmed that the letter was received by the Prime Minister’s House, adding that the letter had already been answered. He said that 80 more cases, once they are approved by the cabinet, will be forwarded to be tried in the military courts. “After this, interior ministry will not have any more cases pending,” he maintained. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also told reporters at London airport that more terrorism-related cases were sent to the military courts for trial. In January 2015, the Pakistan Army Act 2015, along with the 21st Constitution Amendment, was passed to try hardcore terrorists in military courts after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif agreed to refer cases of hardcore terrorists, who were responsible for mass murders of innocent civilians, kids and young soldiers, to special military courts in line with the National Action Plan (NAP) that was formulated in 2015 after the Peshawar Army Public School (APS) massacre. A total of 275 cases of terrorism had been referred to the military courts, set up in January 2015, in the aftermath of the APS attack.
Published in Daily Times, November 5th 2017.
