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The Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court (SC) bench that civilian’s trials in military courts had not yet started.
He made the remarks as a six-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik, resumed hearing pleas challenging the trials of civilians in military courts.
A day before, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a press conference that military courts were indispensable to hold perpetrators and facilitators of the May 9 violence accountable, adding that 102 individuals were facing trials in these courts.
CJP Bandial stated during yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing—during which Justice Mansoor Ali Shah left the bench after the government raised objections—that he anticipated no trial of anyone accused of committing violence on May 9 would begin in military courts while the top court was hearing the case.
During the hearing, the lawyers present asked SC to order a stay on trying civilians in military courts.
The AGP said that no trial has started as yet, adding that the accused will have time to hire lawyers first.
The lawyers, however, told the AGP to make his statement part of the record as it “contradicted” the statement given by the army’s spokesperson a day earlier. The court subsequently rejected the request for issuing a stay order.
“Ensure the suspects speak to their families today,” Justice Bandial told the AGP. “Alert me immediately if something happens. I will be available from next week,” the CJP said.
