In a unanimous verdict, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court on Monday declared civilians’ trials in military courts null and void as it admitted the petitions challenging the trial of civilians involved in the May 9 riots triggered by the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in a corruption case.

The five-member apex court bench — headed by Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik — heard the petitions filed by the PTI chief and others on Monday.

The larger bench in its short verdict ordered that 102 accused arrested under the Army Act be tried in the criminal court and ruled that the trial of any civilian if held in military court has been declared null and void.  

The apex court had reserved the verdict earlier today after Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan completed his arguments centred around the domain and scope of the military courts to try the civilians under the Army Act. 

At the outset of the hearing today, petitioner lawyer Salman Akram Raja told the bench that trials of civilians already commenced before the top court’s verdict in the matter.

Responding to this, Justice Ahsan said the method of conducting proceedings of the case would be settled after Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan completed his arguments.

Presenting his arguments, the AGP said he would explain to the court why a constitutional amendment was necessary to form military courts in 2015 to try the terrorists.

Responding to Justice Ahsan’s query, AGP Awan said the accused who were tried in military courts were local as well as foreign nationals.

He said the accused would be tried under Section 2 (1) (D) of the Official Secrets Act and a trial under the Army Act would fulfill all the requirements of a criminal case.

“The trial of the May 9 accused will be held in line with the procedure of a criminal court,” the AGP said.

The AGP said the 21st Amendment was passed because the terrorists did not fall in the ambit of the Army Act.

“Amendment was necessary for the trial of terrorists [then] why amendment not required for the civilians? At the time of the 21st constitutional amendment, did the accused attack the army or installations?” inquired Justice Ahsan.

AGP Awan replied that the 21st Amendment included a provision to try accused involved in attacking restricted areas.

“How do civilians come under the ambit of the Army Act?” Justice Ahsan asked the AGP.

Justice Malik asked AGP Awan to explain what does Article 8 of the Constitution say. “According to Article 8, legislation against fundamental rights cannot be sustained,” the AGP responded.

Justice Malik observed that the Army Act was enacted to establish discipline in the forces. “How can the law of discipline in the armed forces be applied to civilians?” she inquired.

The AGP responded by saying that discipline of the forces is an internal matter while obstructing armed forces from discharging duties is a separate issue.

He said any person facing the charges under the Army Act can be tried in military courts.

“The laws you [AGP] are referring to are related to army discipline,” Justice Ahsan said.

Justice Malik inquired whether the provision of fundamental rights be left to the will of Parliament.

“The Constitution ensures the provision of fundamental rights at all costs,” she added.

If the court opened this door then even a traffic signal violator will be deprived of his fundamental rights, Justice Malik said.

The AGP told the bench that court-martial is not an established court under Article 175 of the Constitution.

At which, Justice Ahsan said court martials are not under Article 175 but are courts established under the Constitution and Law.

After hearing the arguments, the bench reserved the verdict on the petitions.

A day earlier, the federal government informed the apex court that the military trials of civilians had already commenced.

After concluding the hearing, Justice Ahsan hinted at issuing a short order on the petitions. 

The government told the court about the development related to trials in the military court in a miscellaneous application following orders of the top court on August 3, highlighting that at least 102 people were taken into custody due to their involvement in the attacks on military installations and establishments. 

Suspects express confidence in mly courts

The same day, expressing their “faith and confidence” in military authorities, nine of the May 9 suspects — who are currently in army’s custody — moved the Supreme Court, seeking an order for their trial in the military court be proceeded and concluded expeditiously to “meet the ends of justice”.

Nine out of more than 100 suspects, who were in the army’s custody, filed their petitions in the apex court via an advocate-on-record.

The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after former prime minister Imran Khan’s — who was removed from office via a vote of no confidence in April last year — arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

Last hearing

In response to the move by the then-government and military to try the May 9 protestors in military courts, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, and five civil society members, including Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) Executive Director Karamat Ali, requested the apex court to declare the military trials “unconstitutional”.

The initial hearings were marred by objections on the bench formation and recusals by the judges. Eventually, the six-member bench heard the petitions.

However, in the last hearing on August 3, the then-chief justice Umar Ata Bandial said the apex court would stop the country’s army from resorting to any unconstitutional moves while hearing the pleas challenging the trial of civilians in military courts.

A six-member bench, led by the CJP and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Justice Ayesha Malik, heard the case.

In the last hearing, the case was adjourned indefinitely after the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan assured the then CJP that the military trials would not proceed without informing the apex court.

Iran on Wednesday urged members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take a strong stance against Israel following the deadly strike on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, claiming more than 500 lives.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called for the imposition of an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel and the expulsion of all Israeli ambassadors. He made these remarks during an emergency OIC meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which aimed to address the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to an official statement, the Iranian FM “calls for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors if relations with the Zionist regime have been established”.

Amirabdollahian also proposed the creation of a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. It’s important to note that Iran has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

The call for action came after a devastating Israeli air raid on a hospital in Gaza, resulting in a high casualty count, according to Palestinians. Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qudra, reported that hundreds of people lost their lives, and rescue efforts were still underway to recover bodies from the rubble.

The hospital strike triggered widespread pro-Palestinian protests across the Middle East and North Africa. Demonstrations were staged at Israeli embassies in Jordan, and Turkey, and near the US embassy in Lebanon. Protests also occurred in Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, and Iraq.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the hospital attack as a “hideous war massacre” and accused Israel of crossing the red lines. In response, Israel’s military denied responsibility for the attack and claimed that a misfired Palestinian rocket struck the hospital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised that it was “barbaric terrorists in Gaza” who attacked the hospital, not the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He argued that those responsible for killing Israeli children were also endangering Palestinian children.

The conflict’s toll on human lives has been staggering, with Gaza’s health authorities reporting at least 3,300 deaths and 13,000 injuries over the course of the 11-day conflict. In Israel, the death toll reached 1,400, with 4,475 injuries.

The situation has garnered international attention and condemnation, with calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis growing louder.

• Biden expressed “iron-clad” support for Israel in war against Hamas.
• Gaza neighbourhoods razed, survivors left with dwindling supplies.
• News of hospital destruction draws international condemnation.

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US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday hours after Israel launched a deadly airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City, martyring hundreds of Palestinians and drawing condemnations from world leaders.

Biden on a solidarity visit to Israel backed the ally´s account that Palestinian fighters caused a devastating hospital strike in Gaza, adding Hamas had brought “only suffering”.

“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I´ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden said as he opened a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

#WATCH | Israel | In Tel Aviv, US President Joe Biden says, "…I was deeply sad by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. Based on what I have seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there are a lot of people out there, not sure…"… pic.twitter.com/ixrqpC5cm3

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2023

“But there´s a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things,” Biden said.

“We have to bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering,” Biden said.

He said he was encouraging Netanyahu to ensure “life-saving capacity to help the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this”.

In announcing Biden´s visit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel had agreed to work with the United States on a plan to let aid into Gaza, which has been besieged and bombarded for 12 days and under an Israeli blockade for 16 years.

Israel is threatening a ground invasion following the devastating October 7 assault by Hamas.

Biden said he was “proud” to visit Israel.

“I want to say to the people of Israel — their courage, their commitment and their bravery is stunning,” Biden said.

Netanyahu, who has faced domestic criticism after the deadliest attack in Israel´s history, had eagerly invited Biden, who until recently had openly criticised some moves by Israel´s hard-right government.

Netanyahu hailed Biden — who has faced accusations from the rival Republican Party that he is insufficiently pro-Israel — for paying “the first visit of an American president in Israel in a time of war”.

“There´s only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel and that is having you standing in Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu, opening the talks with Biden, called for global unity against Hamas.

“Just as the civilised world united to defeat the Nazis and united to defeat ISIS [Daesh], the civilised world must unite and defeat Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

“I can assure you, Mr President, Israel is united to defeat Hamas and we will defeat Hamas and remove this terrible threat.”

The horror of the hospital deaths threatened to derail his high-stakes visit, with Jordan cancelling a summit where King Abdullah II had been due to host Biden, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said that an Israeli air strike destroyed the Gaza clinic, while Israel said a misfired rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad group had hit the Ahli Arab Hospital.

Between 200 and 300 people died, according to Gaza health authorities, while Hamas put the toll at more than 500 dead. Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian accounts could be independently corroborated.

Middle East anger over the 12-day-old Gaza war, which has left thousands dead, has reached new heights after the hospital bloodshed, and protests against Israel were called in cities across much of the Arab and Muslim world.

Biden has strongly backed top ally Israel and its military campaign — retaliation for the killing of 1,400 people who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death in shock cross-border attacks launched by Hamas on October 7.

Israel´s campaign to destroy Hamas and try to rescue 199 hostages from the besieged and blockaded territory had already left at least 3,000 dead inside Gaza before the hospital was destroyed.

Entire Gaza neighbourhoods have been razed and survivors are left with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel, unable to flee the 40-kilometre (25-mile) long strip that has been blockaded since 2007 by Israel and Egypt.

“The situation in Gaza is spiralling out of control,” UN World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We need violence on all sides to stop.”

Hospital carnage

On the ground in Gaza, the blast at the Christian-run hospital brought new chaos and suffering Tuesday night, as the dead were pulled from the rubble and the wounded were rushed to nearby medical centres.

Scores of bodies cloaked in blood-stained sheets and white plastic wrap soon lined the floors at the nearby the Al-Shifa hospital, where stunned and bereaved relatives tried to identify loved ones.

⚡️BBC and MSNBC correspondents on the ground refuting Israeli claims that a “faulty rocket” landed on the Hospital in Gaza

BBC:pic.twitter.com/Mcls6KFxZU

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 18, 2023

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said hundreds died including women, children, staff and “internally displaced people seeking safe shelter”.

Ghassan Abu Sittah, a doctor with the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), recounted that “we were operating in the hospital. There was a strong explosion and the ceiling fell on the operating room”.

“Hospitals are not a target,” he said. “This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby represents the Anglican church, which runs the Ahli Arab Hospital.

A picture of Al-Ma'mouni Hospital in Gaza City after the heinous massacre committed by Israeli occupation warplanes last night, which claimed hundreds of Palestinians' lives. pic.twitter.com/r2NVuPYgOU

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) October 18, 2023

He said the hospital was one of several medical facilities in northern Gaza subject to evacuation orders and that it had already been hit by “Israeli rocket fire” on October 14, which wounded four staff.

According to World Health Organisation figures, there have been more than 100 attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other health care assets since October 7.

News of the hospital´s destruction brought swift international condemnation.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “responsibility for this crime must be clearly established” and the “perpetrators held accountable”.

The news coming from the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital in Gaza add horror to the tragedy unfolding before our eyes since days.
Once again, innocent civilians pay the highest price. The responsibility for this crime must be clearly established & the perpetrators held accountable.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 17, 2023

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and warned Israel against “the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 17, 2023

Meanwhile, reacting to the attack on the hospital, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said: “Strongly condemn the Israeli attack on Al-Ahly Al-Mamadany Hospital in Gaza, causing immense civilian casualties. Targeting a hospital, a sanctuary for those in need, is an indefensible act of inhumanity. International humanitarian law give protection to hospitals and medical personnel. 

“We demand an end to this indiscriminate targeting and urge the international community to act swiftly to stop the violence and hold those responsible accountable. In my interaction with UN Secretary General a short while ago, I urged him that the global community should ask Israel to stop killing innocent Palestinians.”

Strongly condemn the Israeli attack on Al-Ahly Al-Mamadany Hospital in Gaza, causing immense civilian casualties. Targeting a hospital, a sanctuary for those in need, is an indefensible act of inhumanity. International humanitarian law give protection to hospitals and medical…

— Anwaar ul Haq Kakar (@anwaar_kakar) October 18, 2023

‘Day of Rage’

Across the region, the response was quick and furious as protesters tried to storm the Israeli embassy in Jordan, a country home to millions of Palestinian refugees.

In Lebanon, demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the US embassy. Stones were hurled and a building was set on fire.

The US State Department authorised the departure of “some non-emergency” personnel from the Beirut embassy, citing the “unpredictable security situation”.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah vowed a “day of rage” on Wednesday, one of many countries across the region where street protests were expected.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the cancelled four-way summit in Amman would be held “when the decision to stop the war and put an end to these massacres has been taken”.

The White House confirmed late Tuesday that Biden’s visit would go ahead to Israel, where he was expected to express solidarity over the Hamas attacks, in which 31 Americans were among the dead.

During the trip, Biden is also expected to press for steps to minimise the huge humanitarian impact of Israel’s military response on civilians and allow aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden would ask Netanyahu “tough questions” about the path ahead.