The Supreme Court of Pakistan has granted conditional permission to military courts to announce reserved verdicts in cases related to civilians allegedly involved in the May 9 riots.
The directive came during a hearing on a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs) against the apex court’s previous ruling nullifying military trials of civilians connected to the riots.
The six-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and including Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Azhar Hasan Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, Musarrat Hilali, and Irfan Saadat Khan, presided over the proceedings.
The case revolves around the trial of over 100 civilians accused of attacking army installations during riots following the arrest of ex-premier Imran Khan on May 9 of the preceding year.
Last year, a five-member Supreme Court bench unanimously declared military trials of the accused civilians unconstitutional, directing their trial in criminal courts established under the ordinary or special law of the land.
However, on December 13, the Supreme Court conditionally suspended its previous ruling pending final judgments on a set of ICAs. These appeals were filed by the then-caretaker federal government and provincial governments of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab. The defense ministry also filed an ICA seeking suspension of the ruling’s operation during the appeal process.
During the hearing, the AGP also hinted at the possibility of 15 to 20 of the accused being released by the special courts. “A total of 105 accused are in the army’s custody,” he said.
AGP Awan further said that there were three stages to the release of the suspects. The first step would be the pronouncement of the reserved judgements; the second would be its confirmation; and the third step would be for the army chief to give concessions to those with reduced sentences.
The attorney general then urged the apex court to allow military courts to announce the reserved verdicts.
“Even if permission is granted, it will be subject to the final decision on the appeals [against the Oct 23 ruling],” Justice Khan remarked.
Justice Rizvi then inquired about the names of those who would be released. AGP Awan replied that the names could not be released until the military courts decided the cases.
“Those whose punishment is one year will be given concessions,” the AGP said.
Subsequently, the SC gave conditional permission to military courts to announce the reserved verdicts. It directed that judgments be announced in cases in which the nominated suspects could be released before Eid.
The court also accepted the request from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to withdraw its appeal against the October 23 ruling. The hearing was adjourned until the fourth week of April, with the attorney general instructed to submit a report on the matter to the registrar.
