The central government and provincial authorities have jointly filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the decision regarding the military trial of civilians.

On Friday, the interim federal and provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan filed appeals within the court against the Supreme Court's October 23rd judgment opposing the military trial of civilians.

Apart from the federal and provincial governments, the Ministry of Defence has also appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn its October 23 ruling and reinstate Section 59(4) of the Army Act and sections of the Official Secrets Act, which were declared illegal by a five-member bench.

The Sindh caretaker government and Shuhada Forum, Balochistan, submitted separate requests to the Supreme Court the day before, asking it to overturn its judgment deeming unconstitutional the trials of civilians in military courts.

The appeal filed by the Sindh chief secretary questions the validity of petitions against Army Act provisions under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. The appeal argues that the five-member bench's decision declaring the trials of civilians under the Pakistan Army Act 1952 as 'unconstitutional' contradicts earlier precedents set by the apex court.

The appeals were prompted by actions taken against individuals who attacked military installations on May 9, following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Last month, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court nullified civilian trials in military courts, admitting petitions challenging the trial of civilians involved in the May 9 riots.

The federal government's plea urges the Supreme Court to declare its October 23 judgment null and void and seeks a stay against the verdict until a decision on its appeal is reached. The federal government contends that the five-member bench was not constituted in accordance with the SC Practice and Procedure Act 2023, rendering its ruling "invalid."

The caretaker governments of Balochistan and KP also filed intra-court appeals urging the Supreme Court to declare the five-member bench's judgment on civilian trials in military courts null and void.

In its appeal, the Ministry of Defence calls on the Supreme Court to revoke the October 23 decision, restore the sections of the Official Secrets Act deemed illegal, and reinstate Section 59(4) of the Army Act. The petition warns that declaring certain sections of the Army Act and Official Secrets Act illegal would harm the country.

The Sindh chief secretary filed an appeal under Section 5 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 against the apex court's order, challenging the trial of civilians in military courts. The caretaker provincial government requests the court to allow its appeal against the October 23 short order and suspend the operation of the short order until the appeal is pending.

On October 23, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court declared the trial of civilians in military courts unconstitutional and determined that individuals connected to the events of May 9 and 10 could be tried by criminal courts. PTI and others opposed military trials, citing a lack of transparency. The decision to use military courts was made by the government of Shehbaz Sharif, who has since completed his term, handing over to a caretaker government overseeing an election scheduled for January. The May 9 riots involved hundreds of Imran Khan supporters storming military and government installations following the former premier's brief arrest by the Punjab Rangers.