The central and provincial governments of Balochistan and KP have challenged the October 23 order of the apex court
- CM’s spokesperson says that these reports are baseless.
- The Advocate General also rejected the news of filing the petition.
- KP, Balochistan has also filed an appeal against the Supreme Court.
KARACHI: The caretaker Sindh government on Saturday refused to approach the Supreme Court against its decision declaring trials of civilians in military courts as unconstitutional.
“Sindh government has not filed any appeal in the Supreme Court on the military trials [claims] “They are baseless,” a spokesman for interim Chief Minister Maqbool Bakar said.
On 16 November, it was reported that the interim government in Sindh and Shuhada Forum, Balochistan separately requested the Supreme Court to rescind its decision on the military court trials.
Additionally, the provincial advocate general also rejected reports of filing a petition in the apex court against the October 23 decision declaring the military trial of civilians arrested in connection with the May 9 mayhem as invalid.
A day earlier, the caretaker federal and provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan had filed an intra-court appeal against the verdict, which was welcomed by lawyers and civil rights activists.
Apart from the central and provincial governments, the Defense Ministry also appealed to the apex court to set aside its October 23 judgment and reinstate the sections of the Official Secrets Act which were declared illegal.
On October 23, a five-member bench of the apex court declared the trials of civilians in military courts void as it admitted petitions challenging the trials of civilians involved in the May 9 riots sparked by the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Took. (PTI) Chief Imran Khan implicated in corruption case.
A larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Ijajul Ahsan and comprising Justices Munib Akhtar, Yaha Afridi, Syed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Ayesha A Malik had announced the verdict.
The apex court also held that the 103 persons and others held in connection with the incidents arising out of May 9 and 10 may be tried in criminal courts established under the general or special law of the country.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others approached the Supreme Court against the military trials on the grounds that they lacked transparency.
The decision to use military courts was taken by the government of Shehbaz Sharif, who completed his term in August and handed over a caretaker government that will oversee elections in January.
Hundreds of Imran Khan supporters stormed military and government establishments and even set a general’s house on fire following the brief arrest of the former prime minister by the Punjab Rangers.
