Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that no civilian was being tried in military courts at the moment.
The AGP made the claim during the hearing of the petitions filed against the trial of civilians in military courts.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial had on Monday asked the AGP to “reassure” him that no such trial would occur as long as the case was being heard in the court.
The AGP said that no trial of civilians was currently underway.
However, later in the evening, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that proceedings against the 102 people handed over for trial were already underway.
A six-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, is hearing the petitions against the government’s decision to try civilians in military courts.
After the AGP’s clarification, the PTI chief’s counsel took to the rostrum at the start of the hearing and said that the AGP and the ISPR DG had conflicting statements.
“A press conference was held by ISPR DG yesterday in which he talked about the trial of 102 people. The Attorney General and ISPR DG have conflicting statements,” he said.
To this, the AGP responded: “I stand by my statement even today.”
He added that the representatives of the Ministry of Defence were present in the court and could explain the situation better.
At this, Justice Ayesha observed: “We are currently reviewing existing judicial precedents.”
Moreover, the CJP expressed faith in the AGP’s statement, directing the court’s attention to the matter at hand.