ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, urging the top court to take notice of the “undeclared martial law” in parts of the country and the continued violent crackdown on his party.
Imran has asked the Supreme Court, through his lawyer Hamid Khan, to investigate the decision of the government to “call in the aid of the armed forces in the Federal Capital Territory, Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the purported exercise of powers under Article 245 of the country’s constitution.
According to the petition, the dictated exercise of this power by the federal cabinet in the absence of objective conditions for the exercise of that power is clearly violative of fundamental rights.
Imran Khan also pleaded with the Supreme Court to appoint a commission chaired by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the events surrounding his arrest on May 9 and the following incidents. Notably, cases against 16 miscreants who reportedly attacked military posts and disrespected martyrs’ memorials following the former prime minister’s arrest are set to be heard by military courts.
In the application, several questions were raised before the Supreme Court, not only regarding the nature of Imran’s arrest, which the SC had already declared illegal but also about the use of the Army Act 1952 and the Official Secrets Act 1923 against the civilian offenders.
It also questioned whether the trial of civilian saboteurs allegedly involved in attacks on Corps Commander’s House (originally Jinnah House and now a civilian house for legal purposes) is without jurisdiction, coram non judice, and malafide.”
Furthermore, “whether the trial of civil offenses committed by civilians under the Army Act violates the provisions of Articles 4, 9, 10 A, 14, and 25 of the Constitution, read with the UN Charter of Human Rights and other international charters.”
According to the petition, putting civilians in military courts would imply denying them the right to life, due process and a fair trial, the dignity of man, and equal protection under the law. It also claimed that the “deliberate, malafide, contumacious disregard” for court judgements passsed by the Supreme Court regarding election provisions should be resolved judicially. The PTI head has also asked the Supreme Court to look into the “illegal arrests” of party leaders and those suspected of vandalising state installations “without the registration of cases under the applicable laws.”
The arrest, investigation, and trial of civilians in peacetime under the Army Act 1952 read with the Officials Secrets Act 1923 is illegal and void of legal effect, according to the petition, and amounts to a rejection of the constitution, the rule of law, and the independence of the court.
Furthermore, it deplored the arrests and detentions of the members of PTI, supporters and workers under the Maintainance of Public Order provisions as unconstitutional. It argued that destroying the PTI through forced resignation from party membership and office is unconstitutional and violates Article 17 of the Constitution.
Despite the fact that the PTI gained the first round of its confrontation with the government, party chairman Imran Khan was released from the custody of the NAB with the support of the superior judiciary.
However, it is unclear who would win the second round of this confrontation, since a large crackdown on the party leadership and workers for encouraging and carrying out attacks on state properties and military sites in the aftermath of Imran’s arrest on May 9. All eyes are once again on the Supreme Court as the PTI’s political future hangs in the balance.
