SC allows trial of civilians in military courts

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday reinstated the Pakistan Army Act in its original form, overturning its previous ruling from October 23, 2023, which had invalidated the trial of civilians by military courts.

The top court's decision, made with a 5-2 majority, supports the appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence and other parties, effectively reinstating key sections of the Army Act, including Sections 2(1)(d)(i), 2(1)(d)(ii), and 59(4).

Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Naeem Akhtar Afghan expressed dissenting views on the ruling.

The majority opinion, shared by Justices Aminuddin Khan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Musarrat Hilali, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi, concluded that military courts should retain authority over certain national security-related cases.

The court clarified that a detailed written judgment would be released at a later time.

Furthermore, the matter of granting civilians the right to appeal military court decisions has been referred to the government, with instructions to draft legislation within 45 days that would enable high courts to hear appeals against military trials.

The ruling comes in the wake of a previous decision by the court's constitutional bench in 2023, which had allowed military courts to proceed with trials of individuals involved in the May 9 riots, under specific conditions.

Following the bench's ruling, military courts sentenced 85 individuals, mostly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists, to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in violent protests that targeted military sites.

The protests had erupted after the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan by Rangers, sparking nationwide unrest and attacks on military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

As a result, hundreds of PTI members were detained, with 102 cases initially transferred from anti-terrorism courts to military tribunals.

In January 2024, the military accepted the mercy pleas of 19 of the 67 convicts from the May 9 riots, citing humanitarian reasons.

The SC had previously ruled in October 2023 that the trials of civilians in military courts were unconstitutional, a decision that had led to the reversal of those trials and the shifting of cases back to civilian courts.