The Pakistani government informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the military courts had not yet begun hearing the case of civilians accused of being involved in attacks on army sites.
The appeals challenging the trial of civilians under the Pakistan Army Act of 1952 and the Official Secret Act of 1923 were being heard by a six-member bench that included Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mazahar Naqvi, and Justice Ayesha Malik.
Following the chief justice’s Monday wish that the trial not start while the court was considering the matter, attorney general Mansoor Awan informed the bench during the hearing that the trial of civilians participating in the May 9 unrest had not yet started.
The development happened as 102 civilians were being held in military custody pending trial at 17 military courts that were already operating in accordance with the law, according to a military spokesman who talked to the media on Monday.
“No trial has started yet and that also takes time. The accused will have time to hire lawyers first,” the attorney general informed the court.
Attorneys for the petitioners requested that the court impose an injunction to prevent civilians from being tried in military courts, but the bench refused to grant an interim stay before hearing the Attorney General of Pakistan’s arguments (AGP).
The accused were, however, given permission to speak to their families, per the chief justice’s directive.
The hearing was then postponed until after the Eid festival, which falls on June 29.
After the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the records of hundreds of alleged rioters, including women and journalists, in custody, the Punjab government of Pakistan last week submitted a report to the court outlining the number of people detained in the province as a result of the violence on May 9.
After angry demonstrators from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party vandalized army facilities in response to the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, the government decided to prosecute civilians under the Army Act.
As Khan was detained by paramilitary soldiers inside the Islamabad High Court on May 9, widespread rioting broke out in Pakistan.
Later, he was freed on bond. In the violent demonstrations that followed Khan’s arrest, over 20 military installations and state buildings, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were destroyed or set on fire.
Following the unrest that resulted in a crackdown on PTI supporters across Pakistan, more than 10,000 people had been detained, including 4,000 people simply from the province of Punjab.
Concerns about civilians being tried in military courts have previously been voiced by a number of national and international rights organizations.
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