As Pak army plans military trials of civilians, Chief Justice intervenes

Islamabad:

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial has said that the trial of the accused civilians allegedly involved in the May 9 violence should not start in the military courts without informing the Supreme Court of Pakistan, a local report said.

He made the comments as a six-member bench, headed by him and consisting of Judge Ijazul Ahsan, Judge Munib Akhtar, Judge Yahya Afridi, Judge Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Judge Ayesha A Malik, resumed hearing a series of allegations challenging military trials of civilians.

During the hearing on Friday. Latif Khosa, the lawyer for petitioner Aitzaz Ahsan, claimed that everything that was happening in the country today had happened during the rule of former military dictator Ziaul Haq.

“You cannot compare the current era with the era of Ziaul Haq. This is not the era of Ziaul Haq nor is martial law imposed on the country. Even if a martial law-like situation arises, we will intervene,” Pakistan’s Dawn was quoted as saying by CJP Bandial.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan further said that the Supreme Court must be informed before military trials of civilians begin.

“The trial of the defendants in a military court should not start without informing the SC,” he said.

At the earlier hearing, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had given Pakistan’s Attorney General (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan another opportunity to request further instructions from the government on the possibility of appealing against the sentence to be handed down by the military courts on those guilty of the acts of violence and arson on 9 May.

The remarks came as the AGP said the Pakistani government was ready to follow any suggestions to improve the process of trials before military courts if the Supreme Court issued instructions to ensure that convictions could be appealed and that the sentence should be reasoned, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.

On May 9 this year, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested inside the Islamabad High Court by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust, which he owns together with his wife, Bushra Bibi.

Following Imran Khan’s arrest, his party called for demonstrations, which turned violent in many places. The administration resorted to repression, and many arrests were made across the country. The civilians accused of the acts of violence on May 9 are being tried in military courts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)