ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s constitutional bench on Monday rejected the federal government’s plea to allow military courts to announce verdicts in cases of civilians allegedly involved in May 9, 2023 riots.
The case pertains to the trial of more than 100 civilians for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the violent protests that followed former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case on May 9, 2023.
On October 23 last year, a five-member SC bench had unanimously declared that trying the accused civilians in military courts violated the constitution, but on Dec. 13, 2023, another top court bench suspended the Oct. 23 ruling as it heard a set of 37 intra-court appeals against it.
In March this year, the top court conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts in the May 9 cases, modifying its Dec. 13 injunction and ordering military courts to commence trials but barring them from convicting or acquitting any accused until a decision on intra-court appeals.
On Monday, a seven-member constitutional bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, resumed hearing the appeals and rejected the government plea allowing the military courts to verdicts of trials of civilians, observing that giving permission to announce verdicts would mean recognizing the authority of military courts.
“We want to hear the case on a daily basis and announce a decision on it,” Justice Aminuddin remarked during the hearing.
In his remarks, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail urged lawyers of all petitioners to cooperate with the bench for an early verdict in the case.
The bench resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, during which Additional Attorney-General (AAG) for Pakistan Amir Rehman requested the court for an adjournment, citing the unavailability of Ministry of Defense Khawaja Haris due to health issues. The court granted the request.
Several cases against Khan and his party related to the May 9, 2023 violence were registered by the government, which also cracked down on his supporters allegedly involved in the riots. Khan’s party has distanced itself from the protests and accused the country’s intelligence agencies of framing his party for the violence. The military denies the accusations.
The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022, a charge denied by the military.
Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite several court cases against him, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military. He has also accused the military of rigging the February 8 election in collusion with the election commission and his political rivals to keep him from returning to power. The military, election commission and Khan’s rivals deny the allegation.
Pakistan top court rejects government’s plea allowing military court verdicts in May 2023 riot cases
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Pakistan top court rejects government’s plea allowing military court verdicts in May 2023 riot cases
- The case pertains to the trial of over 100 civilians for allegedly attacking army installations in protests over ex-PM Khan’s arrest
- The attacks occurred a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for his ouster from office
No truce in India-Pakistan disinformation war
- On social media, citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation
- Now that ceasefire has been declared, analysts warn hate speech “will once again refocus on religious minorities”
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.
Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine.
Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech.
“It’s complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there’s a communication war going on,” said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations.
Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir.
New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people — almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim.
After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP.
AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference.
“We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools,” said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims.
Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference.
“In a time of crisis, the government needed its people’s voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes,” said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan.
The country’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about “increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps.”
Both Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked.
A post from the latter account said the port — one of South Asia’s busiest — was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place.
India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations.
The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including news outlets.
Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories.
The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline.
A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media.
“There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content,” said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.
He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a “significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponized the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris.”
Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches.
Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech “will once again refocus on religious minorities.”
“The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force.”
Pakistan says committed to ceasefire after Modi warns of more strikes
- Modi has said will hit “terror hideouts” in Pakistan in case of new attacks on India, won’t be deterred by “nuclear blackmail“
- Foreign office says India’s portrayal of Pakistan as seeking a ceasefire in “despair and frustration is yet another blatant lie”
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad said on Tuesday it was committed to a recent ceasefire deal with New Delhi and taking necessary steps toward de-escalation, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned he would target “terrorist hideouts” across the border if there were fresh attacks on India.
Modi, who also said India would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail,” was speaking two days after the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to a ceasefire, reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
The military confrontation began on Wednesday, when India said it launched strikes on nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, with Pakistan retaliating by downing five Indian fighter jets. The escalation was triggered by tensions over an attack on Hindu tourists by militants in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that New Delhi has said Pakistan was involved in. Islamabad has denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
In a statement released by the foreign office, Pakistan rejected the “provocative and inflammatory assertions” made by Modi, saying they signaled a “dangerous escalation rooted in misinformation, political opportunism, and a blatant disregard for international law.”
“This statement also reflects a propensity to fabricate misleading narratives to justify aggression,” the foreign office said.
“Pakistan remains committed to the recent ceasefire understanding and taking necessary steps toward de-escalation and regional stability.”
The FO said the ceasefire was achieved through the mediation of several friendly countries and the portrayal of Pakistan as seeking a ceasefire in “despair and frustration is yet another blatant lie.”
On Tuesday morning, the Pakistan army put out figures for deaths in the latest confrontation, saying 11 armed forces personnel and 41 civilians, including women and children, had been killed.
“Indian actions set a dangerous precedent for aggression, dragging the entire region to the brink of disaster. This reflects the mindset of a revisionist actor that seeks to upend strategic stability in South Asia without regard for consequences,” the foreign office added.
“Moreover, India is justifying the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, as well as its highly irresponsible brinkmanship as the new normal for the region.
“Make no mistake, we will closely monitor India’s actions and behavior in this regard in the coming days. We also urge the international community to do the same.”
The statement ended by saying any future aggression would be met with “full resolve” and called on India to prioritize regional stability and the well-being of its citizens “over narrow, politically motivated jingoism.”
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Both nations are nuclear-armed, raising global alarm every time an armed conflict breaks out between them.
“If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given... on our terms,” Modi had said in Monday’s speech in Hindi in a televised address. “In the coming days, we will measure every step of Pakistan... what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt.”
“India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail,” he said, and listed New Delhi’s conditions for holding talks with Islamabad and lifting curbs imposed after the Kashmir attack.
“India’s position is clear: terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together and water and blood cannot flow together,” he said, referring to a water sharing pact between the two countries New Delhi unilaterally suspended after the April 22 militant attack.
- With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan certifies aviation security officers under UK-led training, aims for stronger global compliance
- Officials of Pakistan’s aviation security directorate have been trained by ICAO-qualified instructors
- The training will help aviation security inspectors increase compliance with international standards
KARACHI: Pakistan’s civil aviation regulator on Tuesday said all officers in its aviation security directorate have been internationally certified as security inspectors, following a UK-sponsored training program conducted by instructors qualified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The certification, delivered by the UK Department for Transport (DfT), marks a key step in boosting Pakistan’s compliance with global aviation security standards. Officials said the move is expected to strengthen oversight, improve regulatory capability and bolster Pakistan’s standing under ICAO’s global audit regime.
“This training will play a pivotal role in enhancing the capabilities of our national aviation security inspectors and help increase compliance with international standards,” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement.
The training, conducted in Pakistan by ICAO-qualified UK instructors, officially recognizes all officers in the CAA’s Directorate of Aviation Security as certified Aviation Security Inspectors, a designation that enables them to conduct safety and compliance assessments in line with international protocols.
Pakistan has previously ranked high in South Asia on ICAO’s Effective Implementation Rating, a global benchmark that measures a country’s adherence to international aviation safety and security practices.
The assessment is conducted under ICAO’s Universal Security Audit Program (USAP), which evaluates how well member states implement aviation security oversight systems.
The PCAA informed it was also expanding safety inspector training through international academic placements, adding two officers had been selected for fully sponsored postgraduate programs in France and South Korea, secured through ongoing coordination with both countries’ civil aviation authorities.
Pakistan’s top court adjourns Zahir Jaffer’s appeal in Noor Mukadam murder case until May 19
- Jaffer, a Pakistani-American, was sentenced to death in 2022 for killing and beheading Mukadam
- He filed an appeal in the Supreme Court in April 2023, seeking to overturn the punishment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of an appeal filed by Zahir Zakir Jaffer, a Pakistani-American convicted of murdering the daughter of a former diplomat, until May 19, according to local media reports.
Jaffer was sentenced to death in 2022 for the brutal killing of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, whose beheaded body was found in July 2021 at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 sector.
The case sparked nationwide outrage and became one of Pakistan’s most widely followed trials involving violence against women.
Last year, the Islamabad High Court upheld Jaffer’s death sentence, originally handed down by a sessions court. Subsequently, he filed an appeal in the Supreme Court in April 2023, seeking to overturn the punishment.
“The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case until 19 May, following consensus from both parties,” Geo News reported.
Earlier in the day, a three-member bench led by Justice Hashim Kakar heard the case, alongside Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi. Both defense lawyer Salman Safdar and prosecution counsel Shah Khawar appeared before the court.
The defense requested more time to file additional documentation. Justice Kakar reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the delay, while Justice Najafi advised the prosecution to formally respond only after the defense had submitted the application.
The appeal hearing was preceded by a social media post from Justice for Noor, an advocacy page on Instagram run by Mukadam’s friends.
The post maintained that the defense had attempted to delay court hearings in the past, though it also expressed faith in the country’s judicial system.
“Stand with us,” it urged its followers. “Stand for justice.”
The court adjourned the hearing until May 19, instructing both sides to come fully prepared.
Kohli, Rohit Test exits leave India facing uncertain new era
- Batting great Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests in the past week
- Shubman Gill has been left as front-runner to lead a new-look India in England
NEW DEHLI, INDIA: Indian cricket will enter an uncertain new era next week when selectors name a Test squad without all-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in more than a decade.
Batting great Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests in the past week, leaving Shubman Gill as the front-runner to lead a new-look India in England.
The retirement last year of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leaves India without the backbone of the side that was formerly number one in the world Test rankings.
Top-order batsman Gill is favorite to be given the task of starting India’s rebuild with the five-Test England series, which begins on June 20 at Headingley.
“Gill looks like the heir apparent but his record overseas hasn’t looked too great,” veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon told AFP.
The 25-year-old Gill has scored 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 in 32 Tests since his debut in 2020, with five hundreds.
But in 13 Tests away from home his average is only 29.50.
Gill is likely to move up the order to open alongside the 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, with big-hitting Shreyas Iyer in the frame to replace Kohli at the fall of the second wicket.
Others who could be charged with the almost impossible task of following in all-time great Kohli’s footsteps are Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and Dhruv Jurel.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has also been mentioned as a future captain, but his current poor form and less-than-inspiring leadership of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL are counting against his immediate elevation.
Leading pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was Rohit’s deputy in Australia and led the team in two Tests, winning one, and was seen as another candidate for captain.
But Bumrah has only recently returned to action after suffering a back injury during the final Test at Sydney in January.
The five Tests in England are crammed into six weeks, meaning India will need to manage the workload of their pace attack by resting bowlers for one or more matches, effectively ruling Bumrah out of the captaincy debate.
Memon, who called Kohli’s retirement “a big moment in Indian cricket,” said there was enough strength in depth to fill the void left by Kohli, opener Rohit and Ashwin.
“There are senior pros like (Mohammed) Shami, if he is in form and selected, and (Ravindra) Jadeja,” said Memon.
“The new crop of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, maybe Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj look good.
“They could be looking for a young spinner, maybe Washington Sundar because Ashwin is not there.”
Off-spinner Ashwin called an abrupt halt to his international career after playing the second Test in Adelaide last year.
He ended his career with 537 wickets in 106 matches, eighth on the all-time list and behind only Anil Kumble for India, who had 619 dismissals.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder Sandeep Patil believes the new-look India could come out stronger after a period of transition.
“The two stalwarts, the two pillars of Indian cricket, have gone,” Patil, who was chief selector when Kohli became captain in 2015, told The Times of India.
“It is time to rebuild. It will be a challenge for the national selectors, but I am sure we will find a solution.
“If one player exits, the next one is ready.”
