Military courts tenure extension: 14 senators to be included in Speaker-led body

After the lawmakers in Senate raised concerns for keeping Senate in dark on national security matters, the government on Monday agreed to include 14 senators in the National Assembly Speaker-headed parliamentary committee that is deliberating upon further extension to the tenure of military courts.
The Senate including its chairman had said that any committee without inclusion of member from Senate would not be accepted as a parliamentary committee after a panel headed by NA Speaker consisting parliamentary leaders of all political parties in lower house started huddling to build consensus on the issue of military courts. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, informed the Senate that it is an informal consultative process to build consensus on giving further extension to military courts, for which the NA speaker has taken the lead.
"If it has been a parliamentary committee, the National Assembly would have passed a motion so it is an informal consultative process and now we will include the list of 14 senators including parliamentary leaders," he added. He also said there is clear evidence that Afghan soil was used for Lahore and Sehwan Sharif terror attacks in connivance with the spy agencies of another neighbouring country.
In wake of the attacks, the Prime Minister has 'directed and authorised the armed forces and law enforcement agencies' to eliminate the enemies wherever they are with the full force of the state. "I'm using the words 'directed and authorised' as the prime minister has clear orders to eliminate the enemy...this war against terrorism will end and there will be no compromise on it," he maintained.
Dar said that the extension to military courts has become inevitable, adding, "We had scheduled a meeting of the parliamentary committee on February 27, but now we have set it for February 23, as we can not afford any further delay in this, especially after recent spate of terror attacks."
"We've handed over a list of 76 most wanted terrorists to Afghanistan, and the draft of military courts will be discussed on February 22, and the idea is we will have to take this menace of terrorism head on," he declared. The attack in the isolated town of Sehwan Sharif, a Sufi shrine, in Sindh was one of the country's deadliest bombings in a decade of terrorism that the government has struggled to combat.
Sherry Rehamn, a former ambassador to US and a senator of opposition Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), claimed that the government has no idea how to deal with the militancy, as it has no full-time foreign minister to present the country's point of view in a more vibrant manner before the world.
She questioned the crackdown on militant hideouts within hours of the terrorist attack on Sehwan Sharif, saying if the law enforcing agencies were aware, why no action was taken before the deadly attack that took scores of precious lives. She also claimed that in response to Pakistan's demand of handing over 76 terrorists, Afghanistan has also sent a list of 85 terrorists, adding the closure of borders with Afghanistan is no solution to the problem.
"We've been doing this since long, and when I was an ambassador we used to exchange such lists every month," she said, adding, "The conviction through military courts was hardly 4 percent and there is a need to take effective measures to root out the menace."
She also came down hard on the government for not accepting the presence of Islamic State in the country, saying, "We were told every time that there is no footprint of Daesh and the recent claim by the militant outfit shows the rulers' incompetence." "Tell us where our national security is heading towards? There is no foreign minister to talk to Afghanistan while the parliamentary committee on national security exists nowhere to ensure parliamentary oversight," she lamented.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan, the parliamentary leader of ruling government, hit back saying a party whose leader has no courage to visit Sehwan Sharif in wake of the tragedy must stop talking tall. "If you are so brave and everything is alright, why Zardari is hiding and why the body parts of Sehwan Sharif blast victims were thrown in the garbage," he retorted.