ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed senior lawyer Farogh Naseem as his lawyer in the military courts’ case being heard by the Supreme Court (SC), ARY News reported on Sunday.
PM Shehbaz Sharif has appointed senior lawyer and former law minister Farogh Naseem as his lawyer in the case. Irfan Qadir will represent Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Shah Khawar will represent Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in the case.
On Friday, it was learnt that the top court is likely to announce verdict on pleas challenging trials of civilians in military courts on Tuesday.
READ: Military court trials: Sanaullah claims two judges were minused from bench
A seven-member bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, is hearing a set of petitions against military trials after a nine-member bench was dissolved as Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Tariq Masood recused themselves from the hearing.
We desire to get the results by Tuesday, CJP was quoted as saying while hearing the case. The apex court also directed to avoid harassing lawyers and journalists. “Don’t want to pass judicial order on the issue.”
During the hearing, CJP Bandial remarked that the army can request the anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) to get the custody of civilians for their trial under military laws.
READ: Military court trials: Justice Isa’s note removed from SC website
“It’s common sense that crimes under the Official Secrets Act are to be determined by the army itself and it can request anti-terrorism courts seeking the custody of civilians for trials under army laws,” the top judge remarked.
However, he noted that there was no solid reasoning provided by the military. “We will ask this from Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan.
The further hearing on the case has been adjourned until Monday at 9:30 in the morning.
Dissolution of 9-member bench
A nine-member larger bench headed by CJP Bandial had taken up the pleas on Thursday. However, the bench was dissolved after two members, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Tariq Masood, object to it.
Justice Qazi Faez said he was surprised after seeing his name in the cause list last night. The senior-most judge after CJP remarked the SC Practices and Procedure Bill was suspended by an eight-member bench of the apex court even before letting it become law.
The judgment passed by my bench on March 5 was ‘scrapped’ through a circular released by the SC registrar, Justice Qazi Faez Isa said.
He questioned if this was the importance of a decision made by the apex court.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa said he cannot remain part of the bench as he does not consider it a ‘bench’. I will not be part of any bench until the decision is reached on the Supreme Court Practices and Procedure Bill, he added.
The pleas
The petitions against military courts were filed by former CJP Jawwad S. Khawaja, Aitzaz Ahsan, Karamat Ali, and PTI Chairman.
Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Jawwad S Khawaja challenged the trial of civilians in military courts in the Supreme Court (SC), demanding to declare the move ‘unconstitutional’.
The petition named the Federation of Pakistan through secretaries of law and justice, interior, defence, and chief secretaries of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan as respondents in the case.
CJP Jawwad Khawaja, in his plea, maintained that the trial of civilians by military courts in the presence of civilian ones is unconstitutional. The plea contended that proceedings of a court martial were only appropriate and lawful in the case of army officers.
The plea demanded to declare “any proceedings against civilians on the basis of the impugned sections unlawful”. It prayed the court should direct that such civilians be transferred to the competent civilian authorities for appropriate proceedings before ordinary criminal courts.
The petition came after Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan filed a similar petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the trials of civilians in military courts.