PPP, MQM urge not to adhere to religious parties’ view. PHOTO: APP
To avoid further rift on the issue of military courts, the government on Tuesday ignored religious parties’ concerns and rushed the amendment bills for voting.
Sources told The Express Tribune that an alliance of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) forced the government to not accommodate religious parties’ point of view in the draft bill.
Talking to The Express Tribune, senior leaders of both the PPP and MQM said they had told the prime minister clearly they would withdraw their support in case any amendment was introduced in the draft bills against the spirit of all parties’ conference.
Lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Sheikh Rasheed abstained from voting.
Before commencement of the proceedings, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif invited all parliamentarians to a breakfast meeting at the speaker’s chamber to persuade them to vote in favour of the constitutional amendment.
He reiterated that the current extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary measures and requested all parliamentarians to inform their voters about the measures taken to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. However, the PM’s efforts could not bring dissenting voices back to parliament.
A senior leader of the PPP told The Express Tribune that “a line has been drawn between two forces and religious parties are distanced from the national alliance, which is a welcoming coincidence.” The JUI-F and the JI abstained from voting for or against the bill.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman later told the media that his party avoided committing a sin by abstaining from voting.
“We were told today that two government representatives led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar would speak to us. However, when they were negotiating with us in the chamber and we were almost near to a consensus on the contents of the draft bills, we watched on TV that the bill was already being passed,” he said.
“I don’t know which force pushed the government not to wait even for an hour,” he said, adding that his party will announce future line of action after consultation with all religious parties.
To a question, he said the decision to quit federal cabinet will also be made later.
He said the government sent a negative message of division among leadership against terrorism. “We want to eliminate terrorism without any discrimination. We also sought a role for Supreme Court in the process which was declined,” he added.
The two parties – JUI-F and JI – had objected to the use of words ‘religion’ and ‘sect’ in the bills, maintaining that such words discriminated against religious groups and madrassas.
The PTI representatives also did not attend the National Assembly session in protest against the government’s ‘non-seriousness’ towards the party’s demand to establish a judicial commission to launch an independent investigation into the May 2013 elections.
Earlier before passage of the bills, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said his party was supporting the establishment of the military courts to root out terrorism from the country. “We are supporting the law with a heavy heart and with a belief that the step will help restore peace in Pakistan,” he said.
Shah said he has opposed military courts his entire life and propagated the benefits of independent judiciary. “It was a difficult decision for us but we are standing with the government in these testing times,” he said, adding that the Pakistan army must also stick to the law passed by parliament.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.
COMMENTS (23)
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@Rex Minor: Good thing they are serving in the Army. And are rooting out terrorists in FATA. Your original home. Must be painful to see your brothers embracing Hades.Too bad you don't support the Army, but what else can a TTP apologist do? Ask the Germans for a library card. Will help your knowledge.
@Naeem Khan: The Pakistani leaders have gone bonkers; the only people who have the license to kill, are the soldiers in the Pakistan army whom the Sharif of Punjab has now given them the military courts as well to kill the civilians without any clearance from the Judiciary. Even the American administration did not go that far under cover.
Rex Minor
@Zuhair: Absolutely disagree with your comments. The military courts solution in this ammendment is specifically to address the largest terrorism problem in the country which is no doubt based on false religious and sectarian grounds. That is the essence of this legislation, and the reason is that civilian judges, prosecutors, and investigators have been threatened by these terror groups and thus not able to provide justice. For all other types of crimes the civilian courts and ATC are in place so there is no reason to over burden the military courts with those.
It is comical that Pakistani politicians could make amendments in the constitution in hours. As that despicable dictator Zia once said about the Pakistani constitution that it was piece of paper and he could tear it in thousand pieces. It seems that the politicians has no respect for the constitution, in democratic countries it takes months to amend their constitutions, in the US all 50 States has to ratify the amendment to become part of the constitution. I think Pakistanis will regret to amend the constitution in order to give judicial powers to the military or Army. The Supreme Court should declare it null and void because it is already has been declared unconstitutional.
@StayOut,@Shaukat ali,
True Karachiites know all too well who the real champion of Bhatha(extortion) is in Karachi and how the whole criminal syndicate is operated from London. True TTP terrorists and criminals are active in some pockets around Karachi but their share of killings and bhatha is minuscule when compared to actual champions of Bhathakhori who are operating with complete impunity using political cover to safeguard their interests. Hundreds of policemen involved in "Karachi operation" and many thousand innocent people who had nothing to do with politics have been randomly gunned down in Karachi during last few years of "politics of reconciliation" in Sindh and we all know very well who the real culprits and their masterminds are.
I ask what the Religious Clergy has done for Pakistan so far?
Imran qadri, you are right. We the normal people of Pakistan seek to eliminate religious people like you, because even now you sympathize with murderers in the name of religion. I will feel happy if darri walas like you are feeling pressure and discrimination from this new law, because that means it's working.
@Imran Qadri: No Sir! The current spate of violence by ANP leaders were initiated by unpaid but past used TTP Bhatta party and they are terrorists, thankfully! Remember TTP is a biggest Bhatta group in Karachi and is found in majority of police and political murders and target killings.
@ammar: This is like saying that the PPP and MQM opposed the striking out of "religion," and "sect" because these parties' leadership is controlled by the Shias.
This bill and military court are only meant for "religious terrorist". This means if you're doing terrorism & killing based on politics,ethnicity or language then this bill won't touch you. You can kill as many as you like in Karachi but simply because you're a registered political party so your political terrorists won't be touch. Similarly you can kill as many as you like Balochistan and even attack military installations but even then you won't be tried in military courts because you're not religious.
TTP criminals should consider registering with election commission as most of the political parties involved in killings and deadly violence in Karachi are simply off the hook coz they're registered with election commission as political parties,otherwise crimes they commit against innocent unarmed public are almost same.
Clearly a half baked solution which won't produce desired results..
Sympathizers and facilitators became evident when TTP nominated their four members for peace talks few months back and now in law making their God Fathers in assembly became prominent.Now picture has become absolutely clear in the minds Pakistanis.
PTIs double-faced politics is crystal clear now....
PTI cannot vote as they had already submitted resignation.
Hold on folks. Just how is not voting for this amendment is equal to being pro-terrorism? How is the PPP any better to have voted for and still crying that they did it in the larger interest. If they voted for something they do not endorse, then they have cheated tier voters.
And yes, religion and sect are in bad taste. a much better word would have been terrorism. So this essentially means any non-religious terrorist would not be tried in army courts. what a farce. get a grip. It is a soft coup and PPP this time has voted for it. Now next time if you ever hear them calling themselves 'champions of democracy' just remind them the 6th of January.
Possibly we should look to Bangladesh on how to deal with so called ' religious parties '....you have to uproot the tree, then burn it and not prune its branches.
@ammar: I agree with your comments about PTI but about sect, there should not be any "sect" in Islam. And any practicing muslim who does not follow innovations is a better muslim.
Molana declared that he and his fellows avoided a sing by avoiding voting regarding the bill. His late father, Mufti Mehmood, after the division of the country in 1971, declared that he and his fellows avoided the sin of creating Pakistan. Actually they did not recognize the existence of Pakistan by heart. They accepted to stay in power. Now is the time to recognize these faces in reality.
Even a small Pakistani child now knows the religious related terrorism in Pakistan. Only Moulana Diesel and JI leadership does not know. However encouraging to note the Government distanced itself from religious Jamaats. Might be it is a small march forward in the direction where state and religion can be separated in Pakistan. As for PTI is concerned let IK to enjoy few days with his new bride.
@Abdullah Kayani, no thier stand had always been they would not attend parliament unless a judicial commission is formed. Nawaz should allow it to happen. What is he so afraid of?
He is showing good leadership by taking a stand against Deobandi TTP, he should form a judicial commission as well.
Its very clear now that JUI-F and JI , because they happen to be "Deobandi's" just like TTP itself are friends of TTP and enemies of the people of Pakistan and the Pakistan army. Army should deal with Maula Diesel with a bullet.
“I don’t know which force pushed the government not to wait even for an hour,” That was Divine Force.
So pti took a u turn again.The rest was expected from Islamic parties