ISLAMABAD, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's opposition parties agreed on Thursday to extend support to the government to revive the military courts for the trial of terrorism-related cases, officials said.
The two-year term of the military courts expired in January.
Leaders of the political parties who met in Islamabad with Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the National Assembly in the chair agreed to extend the term of courts for another two-year term.
The major opposition Pakistan Peoples Party had earlier opposed the two-year extension and suggested one-year extension.
Ayaz Sadiq said the government gained four out of nine points presented by the PPP. He said the bill regarding extending of the courts for two years will be tabled on Monday to get it passed unanimously.
PPP leader Senator Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan told the meeting that the country is in a state of war and that is why his party has agreed to extend military courts for another two-year term.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former foreign minister and member of the National Assembly of the opposition PTI party said all the political forces of the country have shown flexibility to extend military courts' term. He said spirit of the consensus is that any particular religious community will not be targeted.
The military courts were established for the speedy trial of the terrorists after the deadliest attack on an army public school in Peshawar in December 2014. Nearly 150 people, mostly students were killed in the Taliban claimed attack.
The army said on Wednesday that the military courts have so far awarded death sentence to a total of 161 terrorists and 21 have been executed.
