Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench on Wednesday sought further clarification regarding the absence of the Army Act's application in the cases related to the 2014 Army Public School (APS) Peshawar attack.
This request came during the hearing of an intra-court appeal questioning the decision to try civilians in military courts.
The constitutional bench, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, heard the appeal.
The Ministry of Defence's lawyer, Khawaja Haris, appeared before the court to defend the stance that military tribunals could try civilians if their crimes were connected to terrorism, especially those involving groups with links to the military.
During the hearing, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail raised concerns over the need for a constitutional amendment to enable military trials for terrorism cases, highlighting that there seemed to be a natural overlap between civilian offenses and the jurisdiction of military courts. He questioned why military courts hadn't been utilized for cases like the APS attack, despite the Army Act being in place.
Khawaja Haris responded by explaining that whether a trial occurs in a civilian or military court depends on the nature of the crime.
He emphasized that crimes tied to the armed forces could fall under military jurisdiction.
Justice Mandokhail countered, suggesting that the intent behind the crime should be the determining factor in such cases, particularly when it involved national security.
As the discussion continued, Haris clarified that acts of terrorism committed by religious or militant groups could be tried by military courts, even without changes to the Constitution.
He acknowledged that while the APS attack was associated with the military, it had not been directly tried by military courts, noting that the constitutional amendment in question expanded the scope of military trials to include a broader range of crimes.
The bench also discussed the 21st Constitutional Amendment, which was enacted to permit military trials for terrorism-related offenses following the APS tragedy.
The Justices reflected on how the amendment had been debated in Parliament, with some highlighting the emotional and national security context in which it was passed.
The hearing was adjourned by the court till Thursday.