Army Act amendment: SC seeks govt's input

Petitioner maintains some clauses of the Act are against the Constitution of Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of a 13-year-old pending petition regarding amendment in the Army Act 1952, the Supreme Court sought federation’s input in this regard on Wednesday.

Colonel (retired) Ikram Chaudhry, the petitioner in the case, termed some clauses of the Army Act against the Constitution of Pakistan and submitted before a three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that such discriminatory clauses should be amended.

Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq requested the court to give him some time for submission of reply. The court approved the request and asked him to submit reply till April 18.

The court will deliver its verdict related to the case after government submits the reply.

In his application, petitioner Ikram maintained that to take a statement from an accused on oath during court martial and then use it against him as evidence is contradictory to the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order and that the constitution does not allow compelling an accused to give statement on oath.

“Section 31 of the Army Act allows an accused to submit a petition against the findings or decision of a military court,” Ikram maintained, adding that “the finding (s) and sentence of all military courts except the summaries are required to be confirmed.”

He further added that it is discriminatory and against the constitution if the verdicts by military courts are not immediately announced to the accused.

Adiala Jail’s 11 ‘missing prisoners’ case  

The SC was informed that the health condition of two inmates Abdul Majid and Abdul Basit was unsatisfactory, while the rest of the five inmates were jailed in poor conditions in Landi Kotal.

Inquiring about the inmates’ living conditions, Chief Justice asked Raja Irshad who is the counsel for ISI and MI to respond to his query. Irshad told the court that he has nothing to do with this matter as the prisoners were held in custody by the civil authorities of the province.

It is alleged that the prisoners were picked up by the ISI from Adiala Jail after the Lahore High Court acquitted them from charges of terrorism.

Advocate Tariq Assad, the counsel for missing prisoners, told the court that he had personally visited the center and found the prisoners living in a poor condition in a small room. Chief Justice Chaudhry, while citing international conventions, said that such treatment was against the law.

The court further asked Irshad about the involvement of the intelligence agencies in the case, to which he categorically denied and suggested the bench to inquire Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor or chief secretary about it.

However after hearing both the parties in the case, the court issued notices to the attorney general and advocate general of K-P to determine who is responsible of this negligence and inform the court on April 12.

After the proceeding, Advocate General K-P Assadullah Chamkani told The Express Tribune that internment center is under the control of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and not the provincial authorities. He added that he has asked Secretary Law and Order Fata Shakeel Qadir to appear before the court on Thursday.