CJP says army can request
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial said that the army can request the anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) to obtain the custody of civilians for their trial in the military courts.
Bandial remarked this during the hearing of pleas against the civilians’ trial in military courts.
PTI supporters arrested after May 9 riots in the country.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, legal expert Aitzaz Ahsan, and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Executive Director Karamat Ali have filed petitions.
The federal and provincial governments decided to try civilians in military courts after PTI supporters attacked army installations after the arrest of Imran Khan on May 9.
A seven-member SC bench consisting of CJP Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, is hearing the petitions.
CJP said, “It’s common sense that crimes under the Official Secrets Act are to be determined by the army itself and it can request anti-terrorism courts seeking the custody of civilians for trials under army laws”.
He, nonetheless, observed that no solid reason was given by the military.
“We will ask this from Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan.”
Punjab govt submits report
Moreover, the Punjab government submitted a report in the apex court containing the details of the suspects involved in the May 9 violence. The report does not include the data of minors, journalists, lawyers or those in the custody of the army.
According to the report, Punjab police detained 81 women following the May 9 riots. About 42 have been released on bail, while 39 are on judicial remand.
Also, police found involvement of 3,050 suspects in incidents of vandalism and authorities detained 2258 individuals under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act. Of these, only 21 are currently in jail.
Meanwhile, 1888 people were arrested in the 51 cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on May 9. Of these 1888, 108 accused are on physical remand while 1247 are in judicial custody.
Additionally, police held the identification parade of 33 suspects while they released 232 on bail.
According to the report, 247 cases were registered under laws other than the ATA. In these cases, 4119 people were arrested, of whom 86 accused are in physical remand, while 2464 are in judicial custody.
