Islamabad: In the wake of handshakes in Ufa, between Pakistan’s democratically elected government and India’s Govt., the military establishment in Pakistan is set to extend its writ over Civilians with Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that secret military courts were legal and could pass death sentences on civilians.
Analysts said the judgment further strengthened the military’s grip on power at the expense of civilian authorities.
Military courts were empowered to try suspected militants after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 children at an army-run school in December. The government argued civilians were too scared to convict militants.
Several lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the military courts in the Supreme Court. But on Wednesday, Chief Justice Nasir ul Mulk, announced all “petitions have been dismissed”.
A detailed judgement will be released later, he said.
Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 190 million, is plagued by a Taliban insurgency, sectarian violence and militancy.
Military courts have heard at least 100 militants’ cases and passed judgement in at least 27, the law ministry said in June. The military published the names of six men sentenced to death in one case.
“The six men convicted by military courts whose execution were stayed by the Supreme Court will now go ahead,” Minister of State for Law Ashtar Ausaf Ali told media after the judgment.
There is no public information about the identity of other suspects or convicts, charges or evidence against them, their sentences or appeals. The military has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
