ISLAMABAD: A day after Defense Ministry’s review petition, the Federal Interior Ministry has also approached the Supreme Court (SC) against the ruling of a five-member bench, which deemed the trial of civilians in military courts unconstitutional’.
In the October 23 ruling, the Supreme Court (SC) declared that the trial of civilians in military courts for their alleged involvement in attacks on army installations during the riots following the arrest of former prime minister and chairman PTI Imran Khan was ultra vires the Constitution.
Supreme Court Ruling on Military Courts Trials
Chaired by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, the bench ruled that 103 identified accused, along with others similarly placed on the list concerning the events of May 9 and 10, should be tried by criminal courts of competent jurisdiction under the ordinary and/or special law of the land.
Petitions challenging the legitimacy of trying civilians in military courts were filed by former Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, senior lawyer Barrister Aitezaz Ahsan, and others.
The Interior Ministry initiated an initial appeal in the Supreme Court, urging the apex court to nullify its verdict on military trials of civilians. A comprehensive appeal will be filed within two weeks.
The federal government, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had also filed appeals in the apex court against the decision of the larger bench that declared the trials of civilians under the Pakistan Army Act 1952 as unconstitutional. Respondents in the case included former Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab, through their respective chief secretaries, as well as the government, through the secretary of the defense ministry.
