Appeals filed against SC verdict on military trials of civilians

ISLAMABAD: Appeals have been filed in the Supreme Court (SC) against its judgment of declaring the trial of civilians by military army courts as illegal.

The appeals were filed by the federal government, Defence Ministry, provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh, and the Voice of Shuhada Balochistan Forum.

The petitioners have prayed the apex court to review its verdict of stopping the trials of civilian accused by military courts, as the pleas on which the five-member SC bench had given its decision were non-maintainable, the official news agency reported.

They also requested the court to restore the terminated sections of the Army Act and the Official Secrets Act because, otherwise, the country would suffer an irreparable loss.

They also requested the court to issue a stay order against the October 23 judgment till the appeals are decided.

The apex court, its October 23 verdict, had banned the trial of civilian accused involved in the incidents of May 9 by the military courts, and ordered to try them in civil courts. The court had also terminated section 59(4) of the Official Secrets Act.