Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan of the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday said that nowhere in the international law it was written that civilians could not be court-martialled, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
During the hearing of intra-court appeals filed against declaring the trial of civilians in military courts null and void, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel asked what would be the situation if a country did not follow international rules.
A seven-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the appeals.
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for a May 9 convict, said that when thousands of people could be tried in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) then why cannot those 105 persons, currently serving prison terms in connection with the May 9 violence?
He further said that civilians could not be court-martialled by taking away from them their basic rights. “As per international rules, the decisions given by military courts should be made public.”
Raja went on to say it was a practice throughout the world that the verdicts given by military tribunals were challenged in courts.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori