The legal crisis surrounding Pakistan military courts has re-entered the spotlight as one year has passed since the Supreme Court ruled that the trial of civilians is constitutional — and Parliament has still not passed the legislation it was ordered to produce.
As of 7 May 2026, human rights organisations are sounding fresh alarms over the continued use of military courts to try civilian defendants, with hundreds of cases still active and a promised right of appeal nowhere in sight. This is one of the most significant unresolved legal questions in Pakistan today.
The Supreme Court Ruling on Pakistan Military Courts
On 7 May 2025, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned a previous ruling from October 2023 that had stated the trial of civilians involved in the 9 May protest before a military court was unconstitutional, and struck down key sections of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.
While validating military trials of civilians, the Supreme Court stated in its majority decision that the legislature must pass a law to provide an “independent right of appeal to the High Courts for civilians” convicted by military courts within 45 days of the order. Despite this, a year on, Parliament has yet to table or pass any such legislation.
What Amnesty International Said on the Anniversary
The one-year mark drew an immediate response from international human rights bodies. On the first anniversary of the ruling, Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, stated that the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision had fundamentally undermined the right to a fair trial and the right to liberty in Pakistan.
According to Amnesty International, a civilian before a military court is subjected to a secret trial without procedural safeguards, conducted by army officials that lack independence and impartiality. If convicted, they are denied the right to appeal. Convicted civilians are also not given access to the court’s reasoned judgements — in many instances, no written order is provided at all.
The 9 May Protesters: Where Their Cases Stand
The 9 May 2023 protests remain the central event driving this legal crisis. In December 2024, 105 protesters who took part in the May 9, 2023 protests following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan were convicted by military courts for sentences of two to ten years.
Idris Khattak, a human rights activist who was forcibly disappeared in 2019 and convicted to 14 years imprisonment after a secret military trial in 2021, has had his case cited repeatedly by UN experts and international legal bodies as emblematic of the broader pattern. Those serving convictions are being deprived of the right to have their sentences independently and impartially reviewed.
Journalists Sentenced to Life: The PECA Dimension
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced seven people for incitement of violence and spread of hatred against state institutions during the May 2023 riots. Those convicted include YouTuber Adil Raja, journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir, and Shaheen Sehbai, anchorperson Haider Raza Mehdi, analyst Moeed Pirzada, and former army official Akbar Hussain.
All were charged with “digital terrorism.” Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict, sentencing all defendants to two consecutive life terms along with a fine of Rs1.5 million. None of the accused was present in court as they have been living abroad to avoid arrest. For full coverage, see Al Jazeera’s report.
What UN Experts and International Bodies Are Saying
Several independent UN experts, including special rapporteurs Margaret Satterthwaite and Mary Lawlor, called the civilian trials an arbitrary use of the legal system, stating that freedom of expression should never be conflated with criminal conduct — especially not terrorism.
Amnesty International is calling on Pakistani authorities to ban military trials of civilians entirely and overturn all civilian convictions issued by these courts. Pakistan’s government has not responded publicly to the anniversary statements at the time of publication.
24PakTimes could not independently verify the current status of all individual pending cases at the time of publication. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
