KARACHI: A Pakistani law allowing military courts to try civilians on terrorism charges expired at midnight on Sunday, as the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to seek its renewal from parliament.
Lawmakers allowed the military courts to be set up by amending the constitution in January 2015 in response to an attack by Pakistani Taliban fighters on a military-run school that killed 134 people, mostly children, in December 2014. An expiry clause was added to the law to keep the measure temporary.
The term of the courts was extended in March 2017, giving them legal presence until March 31, 2019.
At the time the law was introduced, lawmakers and the military argued that civilian courts were too slow and terrorism cases needed to be dealt with swiftly, since many judges, fearful of revenge, were reluctant to deliver verdicts. But lawyers and rights groups have criticised the measure for leading to abuse and curtailing human rights.
Azhar Leghari, the media head of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said the issue of bringing in a new law for military courts would be taken up at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.  
Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said the government had decided to hold talks with opposition political parties to take them into confidence on whether the law allowing the courts to function needed to be renewed. If the opposition parties believed there was no need for military courts, he added, then the government would not be in a position to push a law through parliament.
The law would require support from a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass.
Ali Ahmad Kurd, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said since the government had failed to pass an amendment bill to extend military courts during the set timeline, it would now need to pass a fresh constitutional amendment for new military courts.
"Legally, there will be no military courts from tomorrow and the pending cases will be transferred to trial courts," Kurd said.
Opposition leaders from the Pakistan People’s Party have so far indicated they would not support the courts’ renewal.
In a statement released in January, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan raised concern about the secrecy surrounding military court proceedings and their high conviction rates.  
“These are against the norms of justice,” the statement said.  
In an interview to Arab News in January, military spokesman Maj. Gen Asif Ghafoor said the courts were a “national requirement” because the country’s civilian judicial infrastructure was ill-equipped to deal with terrorism cases.
Ghafoor said verdicts could be appealed at several levels, including in military appellate and civilian courts, and those on death row had the right to file mercy petitions with the army chief and the president of Pakistan.  
“Military courts proceed as per law; there is a laid down legal process with full transparency. Courts decide on evidence and not emotions,” the army's media chief said. However, he added, “should parliament decide that military courts are not needed, then they will not be renewed.”
According to a statement from the army’s media wing, military courts have heard 717 terrorism-related cases since 2015 and sentenced 310 people to death, of which 56 have been executed.