ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: In an expected decision of a six-member bench of like-minded judges formed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood whose own presence in the bench was widely questioned, on Wednesday conditionally suspended the October 23 unanimous ruling order by the Apex Court wherein it had declared Civilians’ trials in Military Courts null and void in connection with the May 9 riots.
Today’s decision was made with a majority of 5-1 as Justice Mussarat Hilali differed with the majority decision.
On October 23, a five-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and also comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Ayesha Malik, and, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi had declared the 103 Civilians’ Trials in Military Courts unconstitutional for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the riots that followed the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in an unlawful manner from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 9, 2023.
However today, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan suspended the October 23 ruling.
During the Course of hearing, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood refused to recuse from larger bench hearing the government intra-court appeal against the previous judgement regarding the same matter.
In its verdict announced today, the Apex Court observed that the Military Courts would not issue a final verdict against the May 9 suspects, saying that the final ruling would be conditional upon the Supreme Court’s orders.
