ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday filed a petition before the country’s top court, calling on it to intervene against the use of military laws to try suspects accused of attacking army installations during countrywide protests in the wake of Khan’s arrest earlier this month.
The detention of Khan in a land fraud case on May 9 was met by days-long violent protests by his supporters, who torched private and government cars and buildings, including military installations. Hundreds were arrested in the aftermath, with the army announcing that those found involved in the violence would be tried under relevant Pakistani laws, including the Pakistan Army Act. The military and the government, in several strongly-worded statements since May 9, have both referred to the rioters as “terrorists” and said they were instigated by the PTI and its leaders.
The Pakistan Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state. Civilians accused of offences such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or attacking military installations or inciting mutiny, can be tried by military courts under a federal government order.
“Whether the trial of civilians through military courts is a clear violation of the Constitutional guarantees of due process and fair trial and violation of Pakistan’s existing obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the jurisprudence developed by this Honourable Court?” the PTI’s petition said, raising 22 questions that it wanted the Supreme Court’s guidance on, calling the use of military courts a “clear violation of due process” and Pakistan’s commitment to international laws.
The petition also questioned whether the labelling of the PTI as a “terrorist organization” was a tactic to delay holding elections and “oust” the Imran Khan-led party from the electoral process.
General elections are scheduled in Pakistan in October and the PTI, arguably the country’s most popular party, is widely expected to bag maximum votes.
Military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officers. The judges are also military personnel and cases are tried at military installations. Trials are closed to outsiders, and no media presence is allowed.
The courts have faced widespread criticism from within Pakistan and rights organisations globally because of their secretive nature and their existence alongside a functioning civilian legal system.
“It is alarming to note that the Pakistani Army has stated its intention to try civilians under military laws, possibly in military courts. Trying civilians in military courts is contrary to international law,” Dinushika Dissanayake, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said this week.
“This is purely an intimidation tactic, designed to crack down on dissent by exercising fear of an institution that has never been held to account for its overreach.”
The army has said in the past trials held at military courts are fair and guarantee human and legal rights. Last week, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said only those who had attacked military properties would be tried under the Army Act.