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PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court ordered the suspension yesterday of death sentences passed by military courts which have raised concerns about fairness and the extent of military powers.
The military said earlier that its courts had sentenced six “hardcore terrorists” to death and a seventh to life imprisonment.
But the Supreme Court said those sentences could not be carried out.
“The execution of military court death sentences, those which have already been awarded and those which will be awarded, is suspended,” ruled Supreme Court Chief Justice Nasir ul-Mulk in Islamabad.
Nine military courts were established in January, after an attack on a school in Peshawar killed 134 pupils and 19 adults.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif championed the new courts in parliament and lifted a moratorium on the death penalty.
But critics have raised questions about the military courts and the Supreme Court Bar Association has filed a legal challenge against them.
