IHC seeks govt’s ‘clear stance’ on Imran Khan’s military trial

Court directs defence ministry to clarify trial procedure of PTI founder

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has asked the federal government to clarify its stance on whether Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan will face a military trial.

During the hearing of the PTI founder’s petition against his possible detention and military trial, IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb directed the defence ministry to apprise the court of the procedure for civilians’ trial in military courts.

The court noted that statements from politicians and military officers had been brought on record, adding that if the statements came from an officer, these could be taken as serious.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Manawwar Iqbal Duggal said that, till date, the defence ministry had no information about military detention and trial of Imran.

He said he was speaking on behalf of the ministry and no such thing had come yet.

However, the AAG added that if any application was received, action would still be taken as per law. On that, speaking with the petitioner’s lawyer, the judge asked him whether his petition was premature.

Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb told the petitioner’s lawyer that if the government’s answer was in the affirmative and there was going to be a military trial, then the matter could have proceeded but for now, the court had nothing to proceed with.

The court asked defence ministry representative, Brig (retd) Falak Naz, as to how they take civilians to the military courts. He replied that the magistrate concerned was to be informed by the military authorities.

The judge directed him to outline the procedure for the trial of a civilian in a military court. He said that if notice was given to the PTI founder before the military trial then the case could be disposed of.

The judge admonished the petitioner’s lawyer that if he wanted to come to the court like a lightning bolt without a notice, it would not happen. He said if the trial court said that the case was to be sent to a military court, it could be sent by giving a notice.

The judge noted that there was no clear answer from the government, therefore, he was giving time. He told the AAG to come to the court with instructions regarding this matter and adjourned the hearing until September 24.