The Supreme Court (SC) has sought details of civilians being tried in military trials over their alleged role in May 9 riots. A six-member bench — led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and including Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Azhar Hasan Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan — heard a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs) against its Oct 23 unanimous ruling nullifying the military trials of civilians.
The case references 103 civilians currently in army trials for their alleged involvement in attacks on army installations.
It is important to note that last year, a five member bench had unanimously declared military trials of civilians as null and void.
However, on December 13, ruling on an appeal filed by the then-caretaker federal government and provincial governments of Punjab, KPK, Balochistan, in a 5-1 majority verdict, the SC conditionally suspended its previous ruling.
Recently, former CJP Jawad S. Khawaja, who is one of the petitioners to challenge military trials, had requested for an early hearing, stating that continued presence of civilians in military custody was worrying. His counsel also objected to the size of the bench saying, “It is my request to the court to urge the SC committee to constitute a nine-member bench.”
