By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s attorney general told the Supreme Court on Friday that the army had detained 102 people for attacking military installations during protests over the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan last month.
The government and the army have said they will try the suspects in military courts, which operate in secrecy and are usually reserved for service members or enemies of the state. Rights groups have criticised the move as a violation of due process and civilian authority.
Four petitions challenging the trials of civilians in military courts have been filed by former Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, lawyer and politician Aitzaz Ahsan, labour rights activist Karamat Ali, and Khan himself.
A seven-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, resumed hearing the pleas on Friday.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan said none of the 102 detainees were women, minors, journalists or lawyers.
He said one suspect’s age was doubtful and he would be released if found to be under 18.
The chief justice had declined to issue an interim order to stop the trials on Thursday, saying he wanted to hear from Awan first.
The court had also asked Awan to provide the number of suspects in civil and military custody for offences allegedly committed on May 9.
Khan was arrested on graft charges on May 9, sparking countrywide protests by his supporters. He was later released but hundreds of his followers were arrested and his party faced a crackdown.
The army said it would punish all those who had damaged military properties or instigated others to do so.
Many senior members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have since defected. Khan says the military courts are meant to put him in jail and dismantle his party.
Pakistan’s Army Act of 1952 allows civilians to be tried in military courts for offences such as waging war against the armed forces or attacking military installations.
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