Pakistan: CJP Bandial expects no civilian is 'tried' in military courts in May 9 violence case

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 26 : Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said on Monday that he expected that no civilians would be tried in military courts in May 9 violence case while the matter was being heard in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

He made the remarks as a six-member SC bench, comprising himself, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik, heard pleas challenging the military trial of civilians.

"I expect that no military trial [of civilians] will be conducted while proceedings are ongoing," Justice Bandial said.

He also said that all the 102 people currently in the military's custody should be allowed to meet their families.

A six-member bench was formed earlier today after the government had raised objections regarding Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, citing the fact that one of the petitioners, Jawwad S Khawaja, was related to him.

Earlier on Monday, during the hearing, the bench which was hearing the petitions filed against the trial of civilians in military courts got dissolved for the second time on Monday after the federal government raised objections to the inclusion of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on the seven-member bench.

The hearing resumed after the adjournment with a six-judge bench.

Earlier on June 23, the Supreme Court of Pakistan said that it will "quickly" conclude the pleas against the prosecution of civilians in military courts, according to Pakistan's Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who declined to order a suspension of the proceedings on Thursday, Geo News reported.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan, who presided over a seven-member panel that included the judges Ijazul Ahsan, Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, Yahya Afridi, Ayesha Malik, and Mazahir Ali Naqvi, said, "It is not right to issue stay orders on everything."

The matter pertains to the violence that broke out in the aftermath of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's arrest.

After individuals purportedly affiliated with the PTI resorted to attacking military posts on May 9 in response to the detention of their party president, the government made the decision to trial civilians in military courts, according to Geo News.

A number of petitions were filed in the Supreme requesting the apex court to declare the military trials "unconstitutional", Geo News reported.

The pleas were filed separately by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, legal expert Aitzaz Ahsan, and five civil society members, including Piler Executive Director Karamat Ali.

A Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court issues a non-bailable arrest warrant for Imran Khan and several other former and current party leaders in cases related to May 9 riots, reported Dawn.

During the riots, at least eight people were killed and over 290 injured after the National Accountability Bureau arrested the PTI chief in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

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