‘The two-year term of military courts will be completed today,’ Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a press conference on Saturday. ‘The government has not taken any decision on their renewal so far.’ The military courts were set up in January 2015 after a terrorist attack at Army Public School Peshawar in which 144 people, mostly pupils, were killed. The courts were tasked specifically with trying terrorists.
The decision to give special powers to the army - which has ruled the country for nearly half of its existence - to establish special tribunals was criticized and even challenged in the country's top court.
Their establishment was part of the 20-point National Action Plan the government devised to combat terrorism after the Peshawar attack.
The courts were set up through a constitutional amendment with sunset clause of two years from the date of enactment.
On Friday, local media quoted Interior Minister Chaudhry Nsiar Ali Khan saying that, from now on, terrorism-related cases will be referred to existing anti-terrorism courts.
During their two years, 11 military courts across the country sentenced 161 militants to death and handed down another 116 jail terms.