Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday directed Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan to seek the government’s directives on Pakistan Army Act 1952, saying that “the Army Act does not apply to all”. A six-member bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial heard multiple petitions against the trial of civilians in military courts. At the outset of today\u2019s hearing, AGP Awan came to the rostrum to continue his arguments. He informed the bench that the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House took place at 5:40pm, noting that all attacks on military installations took place \u201capproximately at the same time\u201d. \u201cOn May 9, sensitive military installations were attacked between 3pm and 7pm,\u201d he said. AGP Awan said that a wall was demolished at the Mianwali airbase where aircraft were parked, adding that fuel for the planes was also present there at the time. He said that the office of the Inter-Services Intelligence\u2019s (ISI) Hamza Camp in Rawalpindi and the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology were also attacked by rioters. \u201cViolent incidents also took place in Rawalpindi\u2019s Chaklala,\u201d he said, adding that petrol bombs were also used. He said that the violent incidents of May 9 had caused losses of Rs2.5 billion. The AGP also showed pictures of people entering General Headquarters Rawalpindi as well as images of miscreants wearing the Lahore Corps Commander\u2019s uniform. The attorney general said that a Canteen Store Department (CSD) store was set ablaze in Lahore. He said that the miscreants involved in attacking the Faisalabad ISI office were allegedly armed. Further detailing the violence of May 9, AGP Awan said that Lahore and Peshawar were \u201claid to waste\u201d while the toll plaza on the Swat motorway was also set ablaze. \u201cOn May 9, the situation in Sindh and Balochistan was under control,\u201d he noted. He further said that the army showed \u201cflexibility\u201d regarding the May 9 incidents. \u201cMilitary officers are not trained to deal with protesters like police officials are,\u201d he said. \u201cAre you saying that army officers only know how to shoot?\u201d CJP Bandial asked. At this, AGP Awan said that army officers were not taught how to disperse such crowds. Sensitive military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, GHQ and airbases, were attacked in a \u201csystematic manner\u201d, he said. He further said that military installations had suffered a loss of Rs1.9bn while more than 200 people, including 184 law enforcers, were injured during the violence. \u201cThe events of May 9 did not happen suddenly, they were carried out in a systematic manner,\u201d the AGP said as he again requested for a full court bench to hear the pleas against military trials of civilians. The attorney general contended that such an incident had never before taken place in the country\u2019s history. Talking about the Liaqat Hussain case, which was also referenced during previous arguments by the petitioners\u2019 lawyers, he said that the crime was civilian in nature. \u201cEven in the 21st Amendment [case], the crime was of a civilian nature,\u201d he said. At this, Justice Naqvi interjected and said that the case concerning the 21st Amendment was completely different. \u201cMilitary courts were established through a constitutional amendment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are saying that it is the first time the people attacked military installations,\u201d the CJP remarked. He also asked AGP Awan to talk about the points raised by the petitioners. \u201cWhat is the punishment in military courts under Section 7 of the Army Act?\u201d he asked. \u201cUnder Sections 3 and 9, the punishment in military courts is two years imprisonment,\u201d the AGP responded. \u201cIs that the maximum punishment?\u201d the CJP asked, to which the AGP replied in the affirmative. \u201cThen the punishment in ordinary courts is more,\u201d Justice Bandial observed, adding that there were more severe punishments under civil laws. Justice Akhtar then said that the data and facts as well as the allegations put forth by the attorney general were \u201cvery serious\u201d in nature. \u201cEntering a prohibited area is also a crime,\u201d he said, adding that Section 3 of the Army Act would be applicable in this case. Justice Bandial then remarked that there was an element of \u201cseriousness\u201d regarding the events of May 9. \u201cIn my memory, there is no such incident where institutions were attacked across the country,\u201d he observed. He told the AGP to assure the court that fair trial and processes would be followed before giving arguments on the constitutional aspect of the case. \u201cCertainly, the court will not allow something that is unconstitutional,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the right of appeal is to be given in a trial under the Army Act, then give it through legislation,\u201d Justice Afridi said. CJP Bandial remarked that the AGP would have to satisfy the court that the right of appeal would be given. \u201cThe question is whether or not one will have the right to appeal in a court created under the Constitution,\u201d Justice Afridi said. Justice Bandial then observed that Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was given the right of appeal, to which the AGP said that the \u201calien\u201d was given the right through legislation. \u201cIs he \u2018alien\u2019 or Indian? The word alien has other interpretations,\u201d Justice Ahsan remarked with a smile. CJP Bandial then asked the AGP to seek instructions from the government regarding whether a right of appeal would be given or not. The AGP said that he would be able to seek instructions in this regard by Friday, following which the hearing was adjourned till then. A day earlier, CJP Bandial had observed that civilians should not be put through the rigours and harshness of military courts, since they enjoy certain constitutional protections, and besides, such trials were not according to the Constitution. Earlier this week, the federal government had argued that the trial of those accused of violence against the armed forces under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 was an apt and proportionate response under the constitutional framework and statutory regime. The petitions were filed by former CJP Jawwad S. Khawaja, Aitzaz Ahsan, Karamat Ali, and PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Khawaja, who filed the petition through his counsel Advocate Khawaja Ahmad, requested the top court to declare the trial of civilians by military courts unconstitutional. The former CJP pleaded that Section 2(1)(d)(i) and (ii) of the Pakistan Army Act were inconsistent with the fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution and therefore void, and should be struck down. As an interim measure, all proceedings against civilians based on the sections should be suspended or, in the alternative, any military court should be restrained from passing a final order in any case against civilians based on the sections, the petition stated. Before this petition, five members of civil society from different cities, thro\u00adugh their counsel Faisal Siddiqi, sought as illegal the trial of civilians in the military courts in connection with the violence in the country of May 9. Likewise, Ahsan, who has also served as a former law minister and also spearheaded the 2007 lawyers\u2019 movement, explained that the primary purpose of his petition was to ensure that none of the thousands of civilians who have admittedly been arrested for allegedly having partaken in the May 9 violence and being nominated for trial be tried by military courts. The petitioner said he did not seek to scuttle the trial of any civilian before any lawfully established court of criminal jurisdiction. In his petition, the PTI chairman sought a declaration against the arrests, investigation, and trial of civilians in peacetime under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 as well as the Official Secrets Act 1923.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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