ISLAMABAD : In the lawsuit against the prosecution of civilians in military tribunals, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has retained the services of former law minister Farogh Naseem.
The lawsuit challenging the military courts’ procedures will be heard by the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court, which is presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, all four provinces, the Attorney General of Pakistan, and the PTI chairman have already received notifications from the top court.
In the future hearing of the case, veteran attorney Shah Khawar will defend Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, while Irfan Qadir will represent Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Farogh Naseem will represent Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif before the bigger bench.
A seven-member panel presided over by Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Umar Ata Bandial, had heard petitions objecting to civilians being tried in military tribunals.
Latif Khosa continued his defence of petitioner Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan as the session picked back up. According to Latif Khosa, the formation commanders resolved to bring the May 9 assaults’ perpetrators before military tribunals at their conference. Additionally, a statement was made to that effect and placed on the ISPR website.
He insisted that the proclamation violated Article 10-A of the Pakistani Constitution. The statement was also read out in court by Mr. Khosa. According to Mr. Khosa’s statement, the perpetrators of the May 9 attacks had solid evidence against them.
Following the arrest of the PTI chairman on May 9, violent demonstrations erupted throughout the nation, and the Supreme Court requested the list of everyone who has been detained since then.
The SC panel also declined to issue a stay order over the choice to hold civilian trials in military tribunals. According to CJP Bandial, the attorney general’s arguments would be heard by the top court first.
After two judges resigned, the bench was reconfigured.
Senior justices Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Tariq Masood withdrew from the case, thus Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial reformed a seven-member panel to hear appeals against the prosecution of civilians in military tribunals.
Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar make up the new seven-member bench, which is presided over by Bandial.
Observations by Justice Faez Isa
When senior attorney Latif Khosa asked to begin the hearing of the case and expressed his satisfaction with it, Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated he wanted to share some remarks. Since the court was not a place for politics, Justice Isa urged Khosa to show his happiness elsewhere.
Justice Isa then said that a circular issued by the registrar had overturned his ruling. Justice Isa said that although he was not resigning from the bench, he did not think the bigger bench considering arguments against military courts was the appropriate one. He also believed that without a decision on the Practise and Procedure Bill, all benches considering cases lacked legal support.