Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Supreme Court on Friday emphasised the importance of reforms across all courts, whether it is an anti-terrorism or any other judicial body, to bring about improvement.
“Reforms are crucial for progress, regardless of whether they concern an anti-terrorism court or any other,” he said during the hearing on intra-court appeal against the trial of civilians in military courts.
The bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Shahid Bilal questioned the distinction between civilians involved in the May 9 riots and those responsible for the December 16 attacks.
Khawaja Ahmad Hussain, the counsel for former chief justice Jawad S Khawaja, who opposed the military trials, presented arguments in the hearing.
He said that civilians do not fall under military trials. The counsel also clarified that he is not entirely challenging the Army Act but only a specific aspect of it. He pointed out that Justice Muneeb Akhtar had also referred to the same argument in his verdict.
At this, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail said that there was a dispute over different possibilities in the FB Ali case.
“Nowadays, there is also a viewpoint that if a political party engages in such actions, what should be done,” he remarked, recalling his observation from yesterday’s hearing where he had mentioned the Mehran Base attack and a few other incidents.
Justice Hilali said that the court was convinced during the previous hearing that military trials ensure a fair trial. This was when she asked about the difference between the individuals involved in the May 9 riots and the attack on Army Public School, Peshawar, on December 16, 2014.
