Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Declaring Military Trials of Civilians Unconstitutional

Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has announced its reserved verdict on the intra-court appeals challenging the earlier decision that declared military trials of civilians unconstitutional.
A seven-member bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan delivered the verdict, overturning the previous ruling. The court upheld the appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence and others, thereby restoring the relevant sections of the Army Act that allow for the trial of civilians in military courts.
The majority decision was supported by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shahid Bilal, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Hasan Rizvi. However, Justices Jamal Mandokhail and Naeem Afghan dissented from the majority opinion.
With this decision, clauses 2(d)(1), 2(d)(2), and 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act have been reinstated, allowing military courts to proceed with the trials of civilians under specified circumstances.