Pakistan sets up military court to try terrorism cases
On December 25, Pakistan announced that it would set up military courts to try terrorism-related cases.
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| Taliban insurgents in Pakistan. Source: CNN |
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The decision was made during a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and political party leaders on December 24 to outline a national action plan against terrorism.
Speaking on television after a meeting that lasted nearly 11 hours, Prime Minister Sharif stressed the need for drastic action to eradicate extremism and show zero tolerance for those behind the attacks.
Mr Sharif said special courts headed by armed forces officers would be set up to speed up the trial of terrorists and would function for two years.
The anti-terrorism plan also includes a series of measures such as cutting off financial aid to terrorists, preventing banned organizations from operating under new names, amending the constitution to facilitate the establishment of military courts to try terrorists, banning terrorist propaganda in the media, destroying terrorist communication systems, and repatriating Afghan refugees.
Opposition Tehrik-e-Insaf party leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the special courts would only try terrorism-related cases and would not be used for political purposes.
In addition, Prime Minister Sharif also announced the establishment of a special anti-terrorism force. Earlier, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali said that on the afternoon of December 24, the National Action Plan Committee decided to establish a 5,000-strong anti-terrorism force to be deployed in the capital Islamabad and the four provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
At the same meeting, Pakistani political leaders unanimously passed a resolution condemning the December 16 school attack - the bloodiest attack in Pakistan's history.
In a televised speech, Prime Minister Sharif also affirmed the success of the Zarb-e-Azb military campaign to suppress militants in the Waziristan region and called for expanding the campaign nationwide to suppress elements that want to cause instability in Pakistan.
According to Vietnam+
