ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Monday declared null and void the trial of civilians by military courts arrested in the wake of nationwide violent protests on May 9, in a judgment likely to pit the Supreme Court against Pakistan's powerful military.
A five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and comprising Justices Munib Akhtar, Yayha Afridi, Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Ayesha A. Malik heard about a dozen petitions challenging the trials of civilians by military courts.
The Pakistan government and army said earlier this year that suspects accused of attacking army installations in countrywide protests on May 9, in the wake of the former prime minister Imran Khan’s brief arrest, would be tried in military courts.
The announcement faced widespread criticism from within Pakistan and rights organizations globally because of their secretive nature and their existence alongside a functioning civilian legal system.
“Today the Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a very important verdict in a very important case,” Ahsan, a senior lawyer and one of the petitioners of the case, told reporters after the decision was announced. “The Supreme Court has proven that supremacy of the law and the constitution would be upheld.”
Ahsan said through its decision, Pakistan’s top court had sent a clear message to all institutions in the country that no one is above the law.
“We were against the trial of civilians by military courts,” he said. “We argued against it and we also struggled against it.”
A six-judge bench including former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial had been hearing the petitions since June. However, after Bandial’s retirement, the bench was reduced to five judges.
In September, Chief Justice Isa was elevated to the position of top judge. His appointment garnered nationwide interest given his reputation as a maverick judge and his past hard-hitting judgments that criticized the role of the country’s powerful military in politics.
During a hearing on June 27, the federal government had assured the court that a formal trial had not yet commenced against 102 individuals held by military authorities in connection with the May 9 violent protests.
Pakistan’s Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state. Civilians can only be tried under a federal government order.
Civilians accused of offenses such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or attacking military installations or inciting mutiny, can be tried at military courts.
Military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officers. The judges are also military personnel and cases are tried at military installations.
Trials are closed to outsiders, and no media presence is allowed.
Anyone tried under the Army Act has the right to defend themselves and a counsel of their choice.
There is no right to appeal but individuals can challenge the question of jurisdiction in high courts and the Supreme Court.
