LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid will attend the multi-party conference (MPC) convened by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party over the military courts extension issue, says PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain.

Chaudhry Shujaat announced his party’s decsion after former Senate chairman Senator Nayyer Bokhari and Senator Abdul Qayyum Soomro called on him and extended the invitation to attend the MPC to reach a decision on extension to military courts on March 4 in Islamabad. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Senator Kamil Ali Agha and PML-Q parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly Moonis Elahi were also present.

Chaudhry Shujaat said his party would participate in the conference as it was also keen to evolve a consensus among the political parties over the military courts bill. “The N-League has made the military courts bill controversial by amending it on its own,” he said, adding nobody’s interest should be above the national interest.

Senator Nayyer Bokhari expressed his party’s gratitude to Chaudhry Shujaat for accepting its invitation. He said the PPP was holding this MPC because of the attitude of the ruling party and prevailing circumstances in the country.

The PML-N government had established military courts for speedy trial of terrorists after the attack on an army public school in Peshawar in Dec, 2014. In Jan 2015, the parliament passed the 21st amendment to establish the military courts for a period of two years which ended this January.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2017