 "The Pakistan Supreme Court has strengthened General Asim Munir's position. Reuters")
India and Pakistan are at each other’s throats.
After the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor – carrying out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Ever since the two countries have accused each other of sending drones and missiles across the Line of Control.
Now, the Pakistan Supreme Court may have just made things worse.
The apex court of the neighbouring country just backed Army chief General Asim Munir, according to several media reports.
A speech of Munir’s comments backing the two-nation theory recently went viral on social media.
But what happened? How did Pakistan’s Supreme Court rule? And what did Munir say?
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What happened?
As per Hindustan Times, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that civilians can be tried by military courts.
The apex court in doing so overturned an October 2023 judgment that called civilians being tried by the military “unconstitutional."
The seven-judge constitution bench of the court led by Justice Aminuddin Khan on May 7 cleared the way for those involved in anti-Pakistan Army protests in May 2023 to be tried by the military.
As per News18, lakhs of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members in May 2023 had taken to the streets to protest the arrest of ex-prime minister Imran Khan.
Imran, who has been in jail for two years, had accused Munir of ordering his arrest in a corruption case.
The demonstrators, blaming Munir for the arrest of their party leader, had swamped military institutions.
As per News18, nearly PTI 1,000 workers had been arrested – many without evidence, they claimed.
In October 2023, Pakistan’s apex court had ruled that the civilians could not be tried by the military.
However, several petitioners including law enforcement agencies appealed the Supreme Court’s decision.
Pakistan’s court in a 5-2 decision overturned the previous ruling.
The court also restored three parts of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, which had been struck down in 2023.
As per Hindustan Times, Justice Aminuddin Khan ordered the government to amend the Army Act in less than two months to allow those convicted by the military courts the chance to appeal in a high court.
Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Naeem Akhtar Afghan disagreed with the majority.
The court had reserved its judgement on Monday.
Why this matters
The decision deals yet another blow to democracy in Pakistan – which since Independence has seen long periods of military rule.
It also concentrates even more power in the hands of the Pakistan Army chief – which has historically been the most powerful position in Pakistan – who many believe is responsible for the standoff between India and Pakistan
“With this shield in his hand, the increasingly unpopular general can now worry a little less about internal dissent,” a piece in India Today noted.
Munir was formerly head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during the Pulwama attack.
Experts say India needs to be careful when dealing with Munir.
An analyst told India Today, “This is not an asymmetric war like Israel vs Hamas or Azerbaijan vs Armenia. This is between two of the most professional armies who are equally matched and have nuclear capabilities. Anything we do, we should expect him to retaliate. Controlling the escalation ladder of conflict will not be easy. Judging by Munir’s recent actions, we should be prepared for unpredictability and surprises, including him initiating something and blaming us for it.”
“Munir would have gamed all options beforehand and is moving with greater caution than normal. We need to carefully gauge him, as he has extensive intelligence and operational exposure. It’s like a game of chess in which we need to think 10 steps ahead of him along with our own contingency plans and punches. So, we have to keep second-guessing his moves till we have some tentative answers at least. Specialists also need to do a detailed psychological profiling based on his behaviour and statements,” another strategist added.
PTI slams ruling
As per India Today, the PTI slammed the ruling as a “weaponised decision”.
“The decision has been given on a day when the purportedly installed regime and the establishment want to build National Cohesion,” Omar Ayub Khan, a member of the National Assembly (Parliament) from the PTI, was quoted as saying by Dawn.
Haleem Adil Sheikh, PTI’s chief of Sindh province, added “Dropping the military courts verdict amid a war-like situation is a deliberate move to mask injustice”.
Reena Omer, South Asian legal advisor to the International Commission of Jurists, Reena Omer, called the decision “terrible, though perhaps expected”.
“A pity the highest court of the land is on board with such militarisation of justice in the country,” Omer wrote on X.
What Munir said
Munir in April made an extremely inflammatory speech at the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad.
“You have to narrate Pakistan’s story to your children so that they don’t forget it when our forefathers thought we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different, that’s where the foundation of the two-nation theory was laid. We are two nations, we are not one nation," Munir, endorsing the two-nation theory championed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said.
Munir made the speech in the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Because of that, our forefathers mounted that incessant struggle to create this country. Our forefathers, they have sacrificed immensely, and we have sacrificed a lot for the creation of this country, and we know how to defend it,” Munir said.
“My dear brothers and sisters and sons and daughters, please don’t forget the story of Pakistan, and don’t forget to narrate this story of Pakistan to your next generation, so that their bond with Pakistan never weakens, whether it is the third generation, or the fourth generation, or the fifth generation, they know what Pakistan is for them,” he added.
Munir in the same speech referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s ‘jugular vein.’
Indian intel agencies said they were looking into whether the Pakistan Army chief’s speech played any part in causing the Pahalgam attack.
“Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,” Munir said,
Intelligence officials say Munir’s words and his focus on the “differential treatment” of Muslims and Hindus may have encouraged militant groups to act.
Munir had also warned of a “swift and notched-up response” to any Indian action following the Pahalgam attack.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to Munir’s remarks by saying, “How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a Union Territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country.”
With inputs from agencies