ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday again asked the government to clarify a possible military trial of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan over his alleged involvement in the May 9 riots. IHC judge Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb presided over the hearing on PTI founder’s petition against military trials in the May 9 case that saw vandalism of military facilities following his arrest last year in a graft case. “There is no clear answer from the government. I am giving you time to bring instructions in this regard,” Justice Aurangzeb said during today’s hearing. The court directed the Ministry of Defense to take a clear stand on further proceedings after which the Ministry sought time. The meeting was adjourned until next Tuesday (September 24). The former prime minister’s pleas followed statements by senior government officials, including Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, who supported rumors of his military trial. It is pertinent to know that in July last year, the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court – in a four-page written verdict – said there were reasonable grounds to link the PTI founder with the May 9 incidents. It should be noted that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government has initiated military trials of those involved in targeting state and military installations in last year’s riots. The case ended up in the Supreme Court, which on 23 October 2023 declared the trials of civilians before military courts null and void, a verdict later overturned by the Supreme Court in December by a 5:1 majority decision. The majority order was announced following internal appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments and the Ministry of Defense against the Supreme Court’s verdict. The verdict of 13 December 2023 stated that the military trials would be conditional on the supreme court’s final verdict on the domestic lawsuits. In today’s hearing, Justice Aurangzeb asked about the procedure for handing someone over to military custody. “To date, the Ministry of Defense has no information about the military detention and trial,” he said, adding that nothing had been submitted to the Ministry on the matter. Another attorney general said: “Even if any request is made, action will be taken in accordance with the law.” To this Judge Aurangzeb said that he had nothing to proceed with in this case. The court then asked the Ministry of Defense to transfer the civil trial to a military court. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said they had a “very clean procedure”. “If a notice is issued to the PTI founder before the military trial, then the case will be closed,” Justice Aurangzeb said, adding that the civil court would first frame the chargesheet as per procedure. If the court decides that the case should be referred to a military court, then a notice should be issued first, he added.
