ISLAMABAD - A meeting of parliamentary parties’ leaders on Tuesday failed to reach common ground on the issue of giving extension to military courts, with some parliamentarians from opposition parties raising serious questions and objections at the way, the government is tackling the issue.

However, Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid said that he would give a roadmap for the military courts extension in the next meeting, and would also satisfy the members on some of their queries about the military courts, the National Action Plan (NAP) and other relevant matters.

The parliamentary parties’ leaders would meet again on February 16th.

The meeting held under the chair of speaker National Assembly remained in session for well over two hours but failed to evolve some consensus view on way forward on military courts extension.

The military courts ceased to function on completion of two-year period in the first week of January 2017.

From the government side, Law Minister Zahid Hamid and Barrister Zafarullah briefed the participants on various aspects of the military courts but failed to convince the opposition members on getting extension for the military courts.

The opposition members were not satisfied by the briefing given by the law minister and questioned that why the interior minister and the officials of the security agencies were not there to brief them on the NAP, the current status of operation Zarb-e-Azb and the alternate arrangement the government had in mind in case the military courts were not given extension.

After the meeting, PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the government should have made alternate arrangements during the period of military courts’ operation in the country, adding that they have sought answers on four questions from the government.

Elaborating his point, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that they had asked that why the government’s own allies—Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam and Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party--- were not extending support to the government on military courts’ extension.

Similarly, the interior minister and other relevant officials of the security agencies had not briefed them on the efficacy of the military courts and the targets government had achieved through these courts.

Qureshi said that government side had also not informed them on who would satisfy them on the implementation of the NAP as the law minister had failed to satisfy them on the issue.

PPP central leader Syed Naveed Qamar said that had they been satisfied with the performance of the military courts then they would not have been asking the government about the roadmap for the extension of these courts.

He grilled the government for not taking measures for refurbishing the civil courts at the time of giving the one-time permission of forming of these courts in January 2014.

Qamar said that they had asked the government to also brief them on the way forward on strengthening the anti-terrorism courts.

MQM Parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar said that the NAP was not implemented in true letter and spirit, and they were also not informed about the achievements of the government through those military courts.

Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid, while talking to media said that they wanted to evolve consensus on granting another extension to the military courts.

He further said that as per the demand of the members of the committee he would give the roadmap for the military courts extension in the next sitting of the committee fixed for February 16th.

It was the third sitting of the committee but the participants failed to evolve consensus on the extension of the military courts.

Even the coalition partners of the ruling PML-N were not ready to extend support to the government’s move.