ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench on Friday conditionally permitted military courts to pronounce reserved decision of 85 civilians who were still in custody for their alleged involvement in last year’s May 9 riots.
Dawn News reported that the bench specified that the decision of the military courts would be subject to its final verdict on the appeals against the Oct 23, 2023 ruling.
Announcing the decision, Justice Aminuddin Khan, who is heading the constitutional bench, stated, “Suspects who can be accorded concessions in their sentences, should be given so and released.
“Suspects who cannot be released should be moved to jails once their sentence has been pronounced,” he ordered.
The decision came as a seven-judge bench resumed hearing a case pertaining to the trial of over 100 civilians for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the riots that followed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023.
According to Dawn, earlier in March, a six-member SC bench had also conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts in the cases.
Today, a seven-member constitutional bench — led by Justice Khan and including Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal Hassan — resumed hearing the intra-court appeals (ICAs).
The apex court has postponed the hearing on the trial of civilians in military courts until after the winter recess.
