PTI moves SC against trials in military courts

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenged the use of the military under Article 245 on Monday, claiming that it was being used to “politically victimize” the Imran Khan-led party and that the civilians accused of setting fire to a building on May 9 were being tried in military courts, which was a “clear violation of due process” and Pakistan’s adherence to international law.

Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI’s additional secretary general, filed the petition on the party’s behalf, asking the top court to take action in accordance with Article 184(3). In the petition, the court is asked 22 questions about the law’s application, whether the requisition violates Article 17 or not, and whether the deployment poses a “threat to the system of parliamentary democracy.”

The petition also asks the court to examine if the requisition of the armed forces is “malafide and in excess of jurisdiction” as the federal government had claimed that they could not be deployed due to the security situation during elections.

“Whether the trial of civilians through military courts is a clear violation of the Constitutional guarantees of due process and fair trial and violation of Pakistan’s existing obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the jurisprudence developed by this Honourable Court?” asked the plea.

The petition also questioned the “federal government’s support” of the public gathering held by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) outside the Supreme Court showed a “discriminatory attitude” towards the use of Article 245 and Section 144.

The petition also questioned whether the labelling of the PTI as a “terrorist organisation” was a tactic not to hold elections and “oust” the Imran Khan-led party from the electoral process.