The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Ministry of Defense to provide detailed information regarding military trials of civilians conducted thus far.
A seven-member Constitutional bench led by Justice Aminuddin convened to address the ongoing legal battle surrounding the military courts’ jurisdiction over civilian trials.
The bench includes Justices Jamal Mandokhel, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Masrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Shahid Bilal Hassan.
The proceedings began with Ministry of Defense lawyer Khawaja Haris arguing in favor of military trials for civilians, asserting that if the relevant sections of the law are deemed correct, the petitions against such trials would be inadmissible. Haris maintained that the established procedure for military trials was followed meticulously.
However, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi raised concerns about the transparency of the military trials, particularly questioning whether the accused were afforded the opportunity to present witnesses and whether the standard of evidence in the trials was in accordance with legal requirements. The court had previously requested the records of military trials but had been refused access. Rizvi emphasized that the court was not seeking a review of the trial’s merits but instead wanted to ensure that due process and fair trial rights were upheld.
In response, Khawaja Haris agreed to provide the court with the record of one military trial case for review. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar echoed concerns about the fairness of military trials, stressing that while the court cannot review the merits of the trial, it must ensure that the procedure followed complies with the standards of a fair trial as enshrined in the Constitution.