As the Supreme Court (SC) resumed hearing petitions contesting the trials of civilians in military courts, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan informed the court that 102 persons were being held by the army.
A seven-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yayha Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik heard the set of petitions.
A day earlier, the CJP turned down a request for an interim or stay order to halt the prosecution of civilians in military courts, stating that it was not practicable until after hearing AGP Awan’s arguments.
The court had requested the AGP to provide the total number of suspects held in civil and military custody as a result of offences allegedly committed by them on May 9 when it served notice to the respondents.
The AGP took the rostrum at the tail-end of today’s hearing, telling the seven-member bench that 102 people were in the army’s custody, adding that none of these were women or minors.
“No journalists or lawyers are in the army’s custody,” he said.
As per details, 81 women had been detained following the May 9 mayhem. Of these, 42 have been released on bail, while the remaining 39 are on judicial remand.
Moreover, the report stated that while 3,050 suspects had been found involved in incidents of vandalism following the PTI chief’s arrest, 2,258 detention orders were issued under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act.
Furthermore, the report added that 1888 people were arrested in the 51 cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on May 9. Of these 1888, 108 accused are on physical remand while 1247 are in judicial custody.
Additionally, the identification parade of 33 suspects was conducted while 232 were released on bail. At the same time, 500 people were declared innocent and released.
According to the report, 247 cases were registered under laws other than the ATA. In these cases, 4,119 people were arrested, of whom 86 accused are in physical remand, while 2,464 are in judicial custody.
Moreover, the identification parade of 368 suspects was carried out, and 1201 were acquitted. The report shared that 3,012 people were released on bail in these cases.
