Pakistan top court says trials of civilians by military courts in May 9 riots cases will continue
Dec 14, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 14 : Pakistan Supreme Court postponed on Wednesday its unanimous decision from October 23 to annul the military courts' ability to try civilians concerning the May 9 riots, according to The Nation.
The Nation is an English-language daily based in Lahore.
A six-member bench with a 5-1 majority decided to uphold the earlier judgement and continue the military trials of 103 civilians accused of being involved in attacks on military installations on May 9 in response to a set of intra-court appeals.
The case was considered by the Supreme Court's six-member bench, which was led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and included Justices Aminuddin Khan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Irfan Saadat Khan.
Justice Hilali disagreed with the ruling made by a majority.
Following the hearing of arguments from both sides, the bench set aside the order that it announced thirty minutes later. According to the brief order, the military courts may carry on with the proceedings, but the verdict will ultimately depend on how this court rules, The Nation reported.
On October 23, a five-member larger bench led by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, which also included Justices Munib Akhtar, Yahya Afridi, Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Ayesha A.
Malik ruled that the civilians' military trials for their alleged involvement in attacks on army installations during the riots, which followed the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9, were unlawful, unconstitutional, and had no legal significance, reported The Nation.
Salman Akram Raja, a representative of some of the civilians involved in the May 9 incident, stated that although terrorist attacks occur worldwide, civilians are not tried by military courts.
He said former chief justice PHC Waqar Seth had overturned the military courts' rulings on the basis that the accused had not been given an independent attorney and that the confessions made by the accused were identical in every instance.
Afterwards, the bench postponed the hearing in the case to the third week of January, next year.
