President signs 21st Constitutional Amendment, Army Act Amendment bills
The bill secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – President Mamnoon Hussain has signed 21st Constitutional Amendment and Army Act Amendment into law on Wednesday, making it part of the Constitution.
With the unanimous vote of all lawmakers present in the National Assembly and the Senate, the bill secured a two-thirds majority it required.
However, lawmakers from religious parties and an opposition party led by former cricketer Imran Khan abstained.
The amendments would see military courts established for a specific period of at least two years. Besides this, the new legislative roadmap would focus on curbing the spread of terrorism by regulating seminaries, preventing hate speeches and provocative literature, and preventing terrorists propaganda on the media.
The decision regarding establishment of military courts to hear terrorism-related cases was taken after a Taliban massacre at a military-run school in Peshawar on December 16 shocked the nation.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also ended a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases, and nine convicted terrorists have since gone to the gallows.
