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The Supreme Court had issued a written order on July 11 regarding judicial proceedings related to the trial of civilians by military courts, declaring that the petitioners had wasted a lot of time in arguing against the appointment of private lawyers, even as the court directed the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior to dismiss various petitions opposing the appointment of private lawyers.
The Supreme Court has issued a written order regarding court proceedings related to the trial of civilians in military courts on July 11.
The written order said a separate application was filed by the home department for the appearance of a private lawyer but it was wasted.
The court order further stated that the court dismissed various petitions against the appointment of private lawyers by the Ministry of Home Affairs and added additional remarks of Justice Shahid Waheed in the written order.
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Justice Shahid Waheed, in his additional remarks, said the Attorney General had submitted that a private lawyer was appointed to assist the court due to the criminal technical aspects of the case and the Attorney General’s honest opinion was commendable and instead of protecting a private individual, appointment of a private lawyer in the public interest could be advocated.
Case Background
It should be remembered that on July 8, the Supreme Court while hearing a case against the military court’s civil trial, Justice Jamal Madhushir said that the place where Quaid-e-Azam spent his last days was set on fire.
It may be recalled that on May 4, Senior Supreme Court Judge Justice Shahid Waheed stressed the need for early hearing of the military court case as it raised issues concerning the life and liberty of civilians.
On 7 May, another petition was filed with the Supreme Court, requesting an early hearing of the case against the trial of civilians by military courts.
It is noteworthy that on April 24, the Supreme Court sent back to the Judges Council the appeal against the military court’s revocation of the civil trial.
On May 28, a six-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, revised its December 13, 2023 order, suspending the October 23 verdict that ordered military trials for citizens involved in the May 9 violence.
Under the revised order, a directive was issued that military courts can initiate trials but will not convict or acquit the accused before an intra-court appeal hearing filed by the government.
On April 8, the federal government told the Supreme Court that 20 people imprisoned for their involvement in the May 9 incident had been released so that they could spend Eid with their families after serving most of their sentences. The army chief commuted his sentence.
It is noteworthy that on March 25, during the appeal hearing within the Civil Chamber of the Military Court, the Court asked the Attorney General for details on the 103 detainees.
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Judge Aminuddin Khan asked how many accused were punished and how many were acquitted. The Attorney General said the trial was completed but the court had stopped the final decision and asked for directions from the court.
During the hearing, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government sought withdrawal of its appeal against the military court’s quashing of the trial of civilians.
It should be remembered that on 22 March, the intra-court appeal against the military court was scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa constituted a new bench of six judges to hear the appeal.
It may be recalled that on March 20, former Chief Justice Javad Khawaja moved the Supreme Court seeking early hearing of appeals against military trials of civilians by military courts.
Former Chief Justice Jawad S Khawaja filed a petition through his advocate Khawaja Ahmed Hussain, pleading that if the appeal is dismissed, these citizens will have to remain in military detention for months without any reason.
The petitioners requested that the case be heard on priority basis before March 25 as the army’s continued detention of civilians would cause irreparable harm.
Former Chief Justice Jawad S Khawaja was among the petitioners who moved the court on May 9 last year to conduct military trials against civilians arrested on charges of violent protests.
It is noteworthy that in October 2023, the five judges of the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision, declaring the trial of 103 citizens unconstitutional.
The decision was challenged through intra-court appeals by the federal government, the Ministry of Defence, the governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which was later upheld by a six-judge bench on December 13, 2023, by a majority of 5 to 1.
On January 29, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood (retired) referred the intra-court appeal to a three-judge committee for scheduling hearing before a larger bench.
The committee comprising the Chief Justice and two senior judges is responsible for constituting the bench under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
Former Justice (retired) Sardar Tariq Masood, while submitting the matter to the committee, made it clear that the October 23 order would remain suspended till the bench is constituted.
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