A petitioner has challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan the trials, convictions and sentences of 29 civilians in military courts during the rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Lt Col (retd) Inamul Rahiem, a lawyer who has been representing the civilian defendants in military court, filed a constitutional petition that argues that these trials carried out under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 have breached the constitutional rights of the accused.
The petitioner named former prime minister Imran Khan, former chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, former ISI chief Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, the Federation of Pakistan through the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, and others as respondents in the case.
The petition highlighted the concerns surrounding the due process of law, and alleged an overreach of military jurisdiction into civilian affairs, which, according to the petitioner, infringed upon the constitutional principle of a separation of powers.
The group of 29 civilians was arrested—when PTI chief Imran Khan served as the prime minister—under charges of various offenses, including terrorism, with their trials conducted in the military courts, a decision which has come under scrutiny by human rights and legal organisations.
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According to the petition, these military court trials posed a significant challenge to civil liberties as they lacked the transparency, and the checks and balances that the civilian judicial system offers.
It is feared that the use of military courts to prosecute civilians may establish a dangerous precedent, undermining the democratic structure of the country, it said.
The petition argued that the government's decision to let the military courts preside over these cases failed to uphold the constitutional promise of a fair trial for every Pakistani citizen, a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.
The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to declare the military court trials of the 29 civilians as unconstitutional and to transfer these cases to civilian courts, ensuring a fair and transparent process.
“It is most respectfully prayed that this Honourable Court may...declare that the trials of 29 civilians...are violative of, inter alia, Section 2(1)(d)(ii) and 59(4), Pakistan Army Act, 1952...and consequently, all such investigations and trials of civilian accused persons under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, and all actions taken subsequently in pursuant to it, are void ab initio and of no legal effect,” it said.
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It requested the court to declare that respondents 2, 3 and 4—Imran Khan, Gen (retd) Bajwa, and Lt-Gen (retd) Hameed—had “exceeded their power and illegally abducted, detained and sentenced without due process of law, the civilians and in violation of their fundamental rights and constitutional guarantees given for every citizen under the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan”, and that criminal proceedings be initiated against these respondents for these actions.
Interestingly, Imran Khan is among the petitioners who have challenged the federal government’s decision to hold trial of May 9 rioter in military courts.
On May 9, alleged workers and supporters of the PTI vandalized and set fire to state and army properties and memorials in the wake of Imran’s arrest from premises of a court in Islamabad.
Over 100 of these alleged rioters are now in military’s custody, awaiting trial under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 and the Official Secret Act, 1923.
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