CB apprised of past case of military trial

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that the trial of an accused in the 2009 General Headquarters (GHQ) attack case had been conducted in a military court, even before the enactment of the 21st Constitutional Amendment.

A seven-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the intra-court appeals against the Supreme Court's decision that declared the military trial of civilians involved in the May 9 incidents as null and void.

During the hearing, Khawaja Haris, the lawyer for the defence ministry, completed his arguments and then lawyer for former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, one of the petitioners in case, advanced his arguments.

At the outset, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail told the court his remarks during a hearing on Wednesday about "not accepting" the decision had created some confusion, adding that he wanted to clarify that he did not mention judges, but meant some individuals.

Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi wondered whether crimes committed during violent nationwide riots on May 9, 2023, were more serious than terrorist incidents.

Justice Rizvi remarked that the Mehran base and Kamra base attacks were mentioned in the 21st Amendment. "Where was the trial of those who attacked GHQ (General Headquarters)?" he asked. "Two Orion aircraft worth billions of rupees were destroyed [in the Mehran base attack]; is the crime of May 9 more serious than these incidents?"

Advocate Haris said that all perpetrators of the Mehran base attack were killed.

"So after they died was there no investigation as to who they were, where they came from and how they came? Was the file of the Mehran base attack closed after the terrorists were killed?" Justice Rizvi asked.

Advocate Haris replied saying an investigation must have been conducted. "The case of the GHQ attack happened in military courts and took place before the 21st Amendment."

Justice Rizvi remarked that the amendments were made based on these attacks and asked: "What happened to the accused in the attack on Kamra base? When did they have a trial?"

Advocate Haris said he would inform the court after taking instructions and completed his arguments.

Justice Rizvi said that the decision on the 21st Amendment had mentioned 16,000 different attacks from 2002 till the enactment of the amendment, in which personnel posted at sensitive places were martyred. Were all such incidents tried in military courts or in anti-terrorism courts, he asked.

Haris replied that the trial of the GHQ attack case was held in military court. He added that all the terrorists who attacked Mehran Air Base were killed on the spot; therefore, there was no need for a military trial there.

Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman, and the lawyer for the Balochistan government adopted the arguments presented by the defence ministry's lawyer. After that Khawaja Ahmed Hussain, the lawyer for former chief justice Jawad S Khawaja began his arguments.