ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Wednesday trials under army laws met “internationally acknowledged minimum requirements” of a fair trial, as the Pakistani government and military face widespread criticism for pushing for military court trials of suspects who participated in riots last month. 

In recent weeks, local and international human rights bodies have expressed alarm over the government and army’s plan to bring former Prime Minister Imran Khan's supporters, who clashed with police and attacked military properties last month, to trial under military rules. Military trials in Pakistan are usually held behind closed doors, depriving civilians of some of their basic rights, including contracting a lawyer of their choice.

A wave of violence engulfed Pakistan’s capital and other cities following the dramatic arrest of Khan from a courtroom in Islamabad on May 9. Angry Khan supporters torched buildings and vehicles and attacked police and military personnel and facilities.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Tarar cited Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 on fair trials, which he said gave the right to appoint a counsel of choice, reduce defence evidence, have access to the relevant record and seek a judicial review.

The law minister said army laws in Pakistan “covered all these [aspects] and that is why it is said that they meet the internationally acknowledged minimum requirements pertaining to the procedure and law.”

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has approached the Supreme Court against the state’s decision to prosecute civilians under the Army Act. 

So far, a Lahore anti-terrorism court has sanctioned the handing over of 16 May 9 suspects to the military and a Rawalpindi court has approved the handing over of another eight suspects. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has separately said 33 suspects — 19 in Punjab and 14 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces — had been handed over to the military following the May 9 attacks on army installations.

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.