The Supreme Court granted conditional permission on Thursday for military courts to issue reserved verdicts in cases involving civilians accused of participating in the May 9 riots.
The court directed that judgments be delivered in cases where the nominated suspects could potentially be released before Eid.
This decision came during a hearing of intra-court appeals against the Supreme Court’s previous ruling nullifying military trials of civilians linked to the May 9 riots. The six-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the proceedings.
The case involves the trial of over 100 civilians accused of attacking army installations during the riots following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9 last year.
Last year, a five-member Supreme Court bench unanimously declared military trials of the accused civilians unconstitutional. However, in December, the court conditionally suspended its ruling pending a final judgment as it heard a set of appeals filed by various government entities.
During today’s hearing, the court, while granting conditional permission for the military courts to announce verdicts, emphasized that this permission would be subject to the final decision on the appeals. It also directed the AGP to submit a report to the registrar regarding this matter.
Furthermore, the court accepted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s request to withdraw its appeal against the October 23 ruling. The hearing was adjourned until the fourth week of April.
