A court in Pakistan has agreed to hear a petition challenging the legality of the government's decision to have army officers sitting in its anti-terrorist courts.

Lawyers from Baluchistan's Bar Council, who have brought the petition, accuse the government of interfering with the judicial system.

They say a previous court ruling declared the use of military courts to try cases of terrorism both illegal and unconstitutional.

Last week, Pakistan's military government changed the law regarding its three-member anti-terrorism courts to allow an army officer to sit on the panel, saying that existing courts were too slow.

The special courts have jurisdiction in cases of kidnapping, hijacking, inciting hatred on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis and have the power to impose the death sentence.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service