ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the authorities to pay equal compensation to the heirs of all 103 people killed in the Lal Masjid operation, DawnNews reported.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, issued the ruling while hearing a number of cases relating to the Lal Masjid incident.

During the hearing, Justice Khwaja said that those killed in the operation were innocent as the police could not produce any criminal records against them.

Moreover, Islamabad police submitted two reports pertaining to the operation in the court.

Addressing the deputy attorney general, Chief Justice Iftikhar said the court had directed the government to compensate the heirs of those killed in the operation. He inquired of the deputy attorney general as to how the authorities determined who was innocent and who was not.

The deputy attorney general said the heirs of those who were waging war against the state were not compensated. Responding to which the chief justice said: "It was a small matter...no one was waging war against the state."

The court then ruled that compensation be paid to the heirs of all 103 people killed in the operation and directed the police to register an FIR of the killings.

The hearing was adjourned for a period of two weeks.