00:00 Supreme Court has announced a decision on Military Courts and civilians can now be
00:09 trialled in Military Courts.
00:10 How do you see this decision?
00:12 The Supreme Court's decision is an interim decision.
00:16 The final decision of the Supreme Court will be subject to it.
00:21 But at least the interim order is a relief for the Government of Pakistan and the State
00:26 of Pakistan.
00:27 The Supreme Court's earlier order which barred the trials of civilians was causing a lot
00:34 of problems.
00:35 The incidents of terrorism in Pakistan are increasing day by day.
00:39 Yesterday's incident where 27 soldiers were martyred and before that we saw that F-Sarans
00:44 were also martyred.
00:45 You provided a huge premium to the terrorists and anti-state actors that they will totally
00:50 shatter the state's integrity and you will not be able to do anything.
00:54 So today's Supreme Court's decision is an interim decision but at least the direction
01:01 and message has gone very positive that if you want to attack Pakistan's institutions,
01:08 Pakistan's military and installations, if you want to weaken the Pakistan army, then
01:15 the Government of Pakistan and the State of Pakistan will prosecute you and prosecution
01:21 will be swift and strict and will be under strict law.
01:25 So this is a good decision and let's see what the Supreme Court's final decision will
01:30 be.
01:31 But this is definitely a positive jurisprudence and the earlier jurisprudence of the Supreme
01:36 Court which was going on for 70 years, it conforms with that as well.
01:41 Because the Supreme Court has established in the past 5-6 major decisions that civilians
01:46 can be trialled in the military court.
01:48 And it has laid down all its ambits.
01:51 So today's decision is confirming that jurisprudence which the Supreme Court has already laid down
01:57 and which was an established jurisprudence.
01:59 And the incidents that we saw in the last 2-3 months and the way our security forces
02:04 were being attacked and the bravery with which they are fighting, and the families of those
02:09 martyrs also want justice.
02:11 You are sending this message to the families of those martyrs that they are fighting for
02:16 justice and that we can't do anything.
02:19 This will be their prosecution in their common courts.
02:23 In the common courts, the prosecution of a common person cannot be done.
02:27 What prosecution have you done of terrorists?
02:29 So today's decision is a positive decision and we all hope that when the Supreme Court
02:35 of Pakistan gives its final decision, then the jurisprudence of civilians in the military
02:40 court will be upheld and it will not give any premium to such terrorists and anti-state
02:46 actors that they can do whatever they want in Pakistan, they can do anything against
02:52 the Pakistani people and the people and the state of Pakistan can do whatever they want.
02:59 So this is a very positive decision.
03:01 Okay, Mr. Yahya, one thing is that the military courts can start the trial.
03:07 The final decision will be based on an appeal.
03:10 If you could explain this in simple words.
03:13 Look, the Supreme Court's decision is that the appeals that the military courts were
03:19 hearing, the process in which they were going through and the stage in which they were going
03:25 through, all these proceedings were halted.
03:28 If you see, if 100 people, some of the PTI workers who were involved in the 9th May
03:34 riots, and their proceedings were halted, you have to give justice to them too.
03:39 Access to justice is their fundamental right.
03:42 But if you have stopped their proceedings, how will they get access to justice?
03:46 So today the Supreme Court's decision is that you should run your proceedings on merit
03:51 in the appeal, and until we give a final decision, you should carry forward those proceedings
03:57 because the proceedings of the military court have been made a myth, people have been confused
04:03 that in the military court, one military officer sits and keeps giving decisions and there is
04:08 no procedure.
04:09 Look, there is a procedure in the military court too, which is applied in your common
04:13 CRPC or common criminal court.
04:15 There is a stage of evidence in it too, there are arguments in it too, there are defense
04:20 counsels in it too, you have to give a right of opportunity hearing in it.
04:24 So this is also a lengthy process.
04:26 So the Supreme Court's decision is that until we do not give a final decision, you
04:30 should carry forward those proceedings, so that if the Supreme Court gives this decision
04:34 that the military courts can trial, then it should not be that you have to start the trial
04:39 from that day, because these people are in jail, these people have not yet been judged
04:44 against them, so the basic principle of access to justice is that the decision should be
04:48 made soon.
04:49 So this is also a very good decision of the Supreme Court, that until we do not give a
04:53 final decision, you should fulfill your other processes and procedures, you should gather
04:57 evidence, you should listen to the arguments, you should give the right of opportunity of
05:01 hearing to the accused, and bring his statement to the paper, so that you can give a decision.
05:07 Okay, he will also say that there will be a trial in the military courts, and if a decision
05:11 comes after the trial, then if that decision has to be challenged, then it will be challenged
05:16 again in the Supreme Court.
05:18 Look, the process is that the decision of the military court, its appeal is in the military
05:24 court, and the decision of the Supreme Court is in the appellate tribunal, and after that
05:28 you can also file an underwritten petition in the High Court, and you can also go directly
05:33 to the Supreme Court under 184.3.
05:35 But if the Supreme Court decides that the military courts cannot trial, then these cases
05:40 will be prosecuted again in their normal criminal courts.
05:45 But if the Supreme Court decides that there can be a trial in the military court, then
05:51 there are appellate procedures and appellate processes under the military courts, which
05:57 can be followed, in which you have an appellate tribunal, which is yours by the military,
06:02 then you have the power of writ in the High Court, and you can also file an appeal in the
06:07 Supreme Court.
06:08 Okay, thank you very much Mr. Yahya Fareed for talking to us.
