Plea to expedite military court proceedings: Nine May 9 suspects approach apex court

ISLAMABAD: Nine accused of the May 9 attacks on military installations and establishments have told the Supreme Court (SC) in their petitions that they have full faith in justice from the military authorities.

They filed petitions in the SC through Advocate on Record, stating that their case was pending in the apex court and they were in the custody of military authorities after the May 9 incident. They stated in their petitions that the behaviour of military authorities during their detention was unexpectedly good.

They said that they were aggrieved parties in the case of military courts in the Supreme Court. They prayed to the Supreme Court to make them party to the case and order the military authorities to complete the trial soon.

However, the government informed the Supreme Court that the military trials of civilians, involved in the May 9 mayhem following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, had already begun.

The government told the court about the development related to trials in the military court in a miscellaneous application following orders of the top court on August 3, highlighting that at least 102 people were taken into custody due to their involvement in the attacks on military installations and establishments.

The development comes a day before a five-member apex court bench — headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik — is scheduled to hear pleas challenging the trial of civilians in military courts.

“The accused persons were taken into custody during the month of May this year and have been in custody since then. The accused have been taken into custody under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, read with the Official Secrets Act, 1923 for attacking military installations/ establishments,” the government in its application stated.

The application mentioned that since these trials have already begun, it is important that they are conducted and concluded to ensure fairness towards the “accused persons”.

“To safeguard the interests of the accused persons, it is imperative that their trials are conducted and concluded so that those who may merit acquittal can be acquitted and those who may merit minor sentences and have already served the time in custody can also be released,” it further read.

The application also stated that if the accused persons are convicted, they can also avail remedies under the law.

The government, in the application, maintained that the trials of these accused persons shall remain subject to the outcome of proceedings in the titled petition.

On August 3, the then-SC chief justice Umar Ata Bandial said the apex court would stop the army from resorting to any unconstitutional moves while hearing the pleas challenging the trial of civilians in military courts.

A six-member bench, led by the CJP and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik, heard the case.

In the last hearing, the case was adjourned indefinitely after the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan assured the then CJP that the military trials would not proceed without informing the apex court.

In response to the move by the-then government and military, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, and five civil society members, including Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Executive Director Karamat Ali, requested the apex court to declare the military trials “unconstitutional”.

The initial hearings were marred by objections on the bench formation and recusals by the judges. Eventually, the six-member bench heard the petitions.

Separately, a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, will hear the case on holding general election in 90 days in the Supreme Court from Monday (today). Notices have also been issued to the parties in this case.

The PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) filed applications in the Supreme Court for the date of holding general elections within 90 days of dissolution of the National Assembly.

President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Abid Shahid Zuberi had also challenged the decision of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to conduct elections under new constituencies in the petition filed under Article 184-3 of the Constitution.

In the petition filed in the Supreme Court, it has been argued that the notification issued in the light of the decision of Council of Common Interests should be declared illegal.