By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to provide a record of all those arrested after violent protests erupted on May 9 following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in corruption charges.
The court, which was hearing petitions challenging the trial of civilians in military courts, asked Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan to submit details of how many detainees were in civil and military custody, including women, juveniles, lawyers and journalists.
The order came after two judges, Qazi Faez Isa and Maqbool Baqar, refused to be part of a nine-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, saying they did not consider it a valid bench until another case related to the powers of the chief justice was decided.
Bandial then formed a new seven-member bench to resume the hearing of the petitions filed by former chief justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, civil society activist Karamat Ali and Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The petitioners have sought a declaration that the trial of civilians by military courts is unconstitutional and a violation of fundamental rights.
They have also requested the court to suspend or restrain any military court from passing a final order in any case against civilians based on two sections of the Pakistan Army Act that deal with offences related to national security and official secrets.
Khan, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year, was arrested in a land scam in May. He claimed that the charges were politically motivated and that he was arrested at the behest of the military. Khan was later released on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Violent protests broke out nationwide following Khan’s arrest, with some protesters attacking military buildings and civilian installations. Later, the country’s civilian and military leaders said that rioters and their backers who attacked state assets and military installations during protests would be tried under army law.
The move has been condemned by rights organisations and activists, who argue that it risks violating civilians’ right to due process.
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