Just when does Pakistan fix its regular courts?

The adjacent op-ed, Military courts needed, was written by Malik Muhammad Ashraf, a freelancer for The Nation. A key point in his argument is that those who take up arms against the government lose their constitutional rights. His last paragraph claims that reform of the civilian courts will be arduous and take time, but does not otherwise explain why nothing was done in that regard during the two-year life of the 21st Amendment (or the months since that provision lapsed) or reveal what steps will be taken now to ensure that Pakistan is not right back where it is today in another two years' time.

"We do need judicial reforms," Mr. Ashraf writes, "but those reforms need not be linked with steps to deal with terrorism."

Why not? Wasn't the two-year life span of the 21st Amendment enacted to afford lawmakers a chance to do precisely that?