ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s constitutional bench on Monday rejected the federal government’s plea to allow military courts to announce verdicts in cases of civilians allegedly involved in May 9, 2023 riots.
The case pertains to the trial of more than 100 civilians for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the violent protests that followed former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case on May 9, 2023.
On October 23 last year, a five-member SC bench had unanimously declared that trying the accused civilians in military courts violated the constitution, but on Dec. 13, 2023, another top court bench suspended the Oct. 23 ruling as it heard a set of 37 intra-court appeals against it.
In March this year, the top court conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts in the May 9 cases, modifying its Dec. 13 injunction and ordering military courts to commence trials but barring them from convicting or acquitting any accused until a decision on intra-court appeals.
On Monday, a seven-member constitutional bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, resumed hearing the appeals and rejected the government plea allowing the military courts to verdicts of trials of civilians, observing that giving permission to announce verdicts would mean recognizing the authority of military courts.
“We want to hear the case on a daily basis and announce a decision on it,” Justice Aminuddin remarked during the hearing.
In his remarks, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail urged lawyers of all petitioners to cooperate with the bench for an early verdict in the case.
The bench resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, during which Additional Attorney-General (AAG) for Pakistan Amir Rehman requested the court for an adjournment, citing the unavailability of Ministry of Defense Khawaja Haris due to health issues. The court granted the request.
Several cases against Khan and his party related to the May 9, 2023 violence were registered by the government, which also cracked down on his supporters allegedly involved in the riots. Khan’s party has distanced itself from the protests and accused the country’s intelligence agencies of framing his party for the violence. The military denies the accusations.
The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022, a charge denied by the military.
Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite several court cases against him, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military. He has also accused the military of rigging the February 8 election in collusion with the election commission and his political rivals to keep him from returning to power. The military, election commission and Khan’s rivals deny the allegation.
Pakistan top court rejects government’s plea allowing military court verdicts in May 2023 riot cases
https://arab.news/v22mv
Pakistan top court rejects government’s plea allowing military court verdicts in May 2023 riot cases
- The case pertains to the trial of over 100 civilians for allegedly attacking army installations in protests over ex-PM Khan’s arrest
- The attacks occurred a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for his ouster from office
Tens of thousands flee northwest Pakistan over fears of military operation
- More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled remote Tirah region bordering Afghanistan
- Government says no military operation underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
BARA, Pakistan: More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan over uncertainty of a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and officials said Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has denied the claim by residents and provincial authorities. He said no military operation was underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, he said harsh weather, rather than military action, was driving the migration. His comments came weeks after residents started fleeing Tirah over fears of a possible army operation.
The exodus began a month after mosque loudspeakers urged residents to leave Tirah by Jan. 23 to avoid potential fighting. Last August, Pakistan launched a military operation against Pakistani Taliban in the Bajau r district in the northwest, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Shafi Jan, a spokesman for the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, posted on X that he held the federal government responsible for the ordeal of the displaced people, saying authorities in Islamabad were retracting their earlier position about the military operation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, whose party is led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has criticized the military and said his government will not allow troops to launch a full-scale operation in Tirah.
The military says it will continue intelligence-based operations against Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Though a separate group, it has been emboldened since the Afghan
Taliban returned to power in 2021. Authorities say many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and that hundreds of them have crossed into Tirah, often using residents as human shields when militant hideouts are raided.
Caught in the middle are the residents of Tirah, who continued arriving in Bara.
So far, local authorities have registered roughly 10,000 families — about 70,000 people — from Tirah, which has a population of around 150,000, said Talha Rafiq Alam, a local government administrator overseeing the relief effort. He said the registration deadline, originally set for Jan. 23, has been extended to Feb. 5.
He said the displaced would be able to return once the law-and-order situation improves.
Among those arriving in Bara and nearby towns was 35-year-old Zar Badshah, who said he left with his wife and four children after the authorities ordered an evacuation. He said mortar shells had exploded in villages in recent weeks, killing a woman and wounding four children in his village. “Community elders told us to leave. They instructed us to evacuate to safer places,” he said.
At a government school in Bara, hundreds of displaced lined up outside registration centers, waiting to be enrolled to receive government assistance. Many complained the process was slow.
Narendra Singh, 27, said members of the minority Sikh community also fled Tirah after food shortages worsened, exacerbated by heavy snowfall and uncertain security.
“There was a severe shortage of food items in Tirah, and that forced us to leave,” he said.
Tirah gained national attention in September, after an explosion at a compound allegedly used to store bomb-making materials killed at least 24 people. Authorities said most of the dead were militants linked to the TTP, though local leaders disputed that account, saying civilians, including women and children, were among the dead.
