Father of man convicted by military court seeks details of proceedings

Zahir Shah, father of Haider Ali files petition in the apex court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution

ISLAMABAD: After the judiciary endorsed military courts earlier this week, the father of a man who was convicted by the courts has approached the Supreme Court, seeking a copy of the relevant documents of the case's proceedings and conviction handed out by the trial court in Swat.

Zahir Shah, father of Haider Ali on Saturday filed a petition in the apex court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution through advocate Zulifiqar Ahmed Bhutta.

The petitioner has listed the Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Defence, Rawalpindi, GOC Malakand Division at Khwazakhela, Swat, In charge Interment Centre at Paithom, Guilibagh, District Swat, government of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa through Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs, Civil Secretariat, Peshawar, IG Prisons, Government of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Superintendent District Jail Timergera, Lower Dir as respondents.

The petitioner requested the apex court to direct the respondents to provide him copy of all the necessary documents of proceedings pertaining to his son Haider Ali, who has been convicted and sentenced to death by the military court Swat such that he could file an application against the judgement in a court of law.

Read: ICJ terms SC's verdict over military courts a blow to human rights

Meanwhile, Kamran Murtaza, counsel for Supreme Court Bar Association in the 21st Constitutional Amendment case said the bar will request the superior judiciary to ensure justice of convicted persons in the military courts. The bar is expected to evolve its future course of action on the court’s August 5 verdict soon, he added.

The petitioner contended that his son, Haider Ali, at the time of his arrest on Eid day September 21, 2009, was a minor (14 years, 8 months), and a student of Grade 10 at Malakand Public School, Sirsani Kabbal, Swat.

He submitted that the exercise on the part of military authorities was not supported by any of the existing civil or military law but was a sheer violation of Article 4 and 10-A of the Constitution as not only fundamental rights which are guaranteed under the Constitution but no authority could claim to go beyond the boundary of the law or conduct a case in violation law.

The petitioner contended that by avoiding to deliver necessary copies of documents to the convict or authorised people is a departure from fundamental rights of the convict and also against Article 10-A of the Constitution which guarantees a right to fair trial.

On the demand of military authorities in Swat, he was produced before the military authorities, where he was taken into custody and shifted to an unknown location for questioning, submitted the petitioner.

Read: Supreme Court upholds establishment of military courts

Ali's father added that after Ramazan, he came to know that his son was confined in Central Jail, Timergara, Lower Dir. Later he filed a habeas corpus petition along with an application for interim relief, before the Peshawar High Court, Mingora Bench (Dar-ul-Qaza), Swat. The interim relief allowed him and his relatives to meet the detainee where he came to know his detained son had been convicted and sentenced to death by a military court in Swat.

The petitioner said that he had tried his best to get the copies of the proceedings as well as the judgment of the military court for the purpose of challenging his son’s but to no avail.

The petitioner said the recent judgment passed on constitutional petitions, the legal right of the accused to file petition against illegalities of the military courts under 21st Amendment were not prohibited.