Supreme Court sets aside govt plea for full court bench
ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the government’s plea to form a full court bench to hear a set of petitions challenging the trial of civilians in military courts, citing the non-availability of judges as the reason.
Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, who is heading a six-member bench, said formation of a full court bench was not possible because three judges expressed their inability to hear the matter while some others, including Justice Athar Minallah, were currently abroad.
He told Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan that the court would give him ample time to present his case as the petitioners’ lawyers had already completed their arguments.
The chief justice remarked that everyone shared the opinion that the May 9 events were very serious in their nature, but added that all the people in the country were worried how the civilians would be treated during the harsh military trial proceedings.
Latif Khosa – one of the counsels representing the petitioners – had stated at the very beginning the accused should be tried in anti-terrorism courts, the chief justice observed and asked the attorney general that he would now have to answer all the questions.
A day earlier (Monday), the government again requested the Supreme Court to form a full bench to hear the matter concerning the military trial of those in the May 9 violence and contended that the petitions against the move were not maintainable.
In a 31-page reply submitted with the apex court, the government said the May 9 events were targeted attacks on military installations and establishments across the country in an organized and coordinated manner. The attacks were neither localized nor isolated, it added.
Describing the violence against as a direct attack on the national
