Islamabad:
The Federal Government has begun consultations about legislation to grant common citizens the right to appeal against trials in military courts, reliable sources revealed.
On May 7, 2025, a constitutional bank of seven members of the Supreme Court, in a majority verdict, confirmed the military trials of the accused in the cases of May 9 and also restored the relevant provisions of the Law of the Army of Pakistan, 1952, provisions that had been annulled by a rascal in October 2023.
The Court ruling also declared that Parliament must legislate within 45 days to ensure that the common citizens who face the procedures of the Martial Court have the right to freely appeal to the higher courts.
The former president of the Justice of Pakistan, Khawaja, who is also a part in the main case, then presented a request for contempt against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, arguing that legislation had not been approved to grant the right of appeal in violation of the court order.
A highly reliable source told The Express PAkGazette that the Government has now initiated consultations to provide the right of appeal to civilians convicted by military courts.
According to the sources, after the consultation process, a bill will be introduced to grant the right of appeal before the higher courts. The ruling coalition now has a two -thirds majority in Parliament.
The country’s civil and military leaders decided to refer to cases of more than 100 people who supposedly participated actively in attacking military facilities following the first arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan of the facilities of the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) on May 9, 2023.
The PTI and several other petitioners, including former CJP Khawaja, approached the Supreme Court against the trial of civilians in the military courts and a complete SC court on October 23, 2023 not only declared that this trial is illegal for a majority vote, but also annulled some provisions of the Law of the Army of Pakistan, 1952.
