ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stayed the death sentence awarded to five former navy personnel in the Karachi Naval Dockyard attack case and sought a response from naval authorities on the petitioners’ claim that they had not been provided copies of the trial proceedings, with reasons.

Justice Babar Sattar was hearing petitions of ex-lieutenant Arslan Nazir Satti and others, seeking copies of the trial proceedings in which they had been sentenced to death.

Five naval officers were reportedly charged with having links with the so-called Islamic State militant group, mutiny, hatching a conspiracy and carrying weapons in the dockyard on Sept 6, 2014.

According to media reports, the attackers purportedly planned to hijack the warship PNS Zulfiqar to use it in an attack on a US Navy refuel ship. Two militants were killed and four others were apprehended by security personnel.

When the matter came up for hearing before the IHC, Justice Sattar wondered, “The question arises as to how the interest of the state in secrecy are to be balanced against the interests of a citizen to be informed of the reasons for which the state has decided to hand him and to provide him the relevant reasoning and material to be able to defend him.”

Advocate Waheed Akhtar and retired colonel Inamur Rahim represented the convicts.

The counsel contended before the court that the naval officers were awarded death sentence in a court martial, but they had not been allowed assistance of the counsel during the proceedings. The IHC was apprised that the documents that were permissible to be shared with the petitioners such as the abstract of evidence and court of inquiry etc. were also not shared with them.

The counsel argued that without access to such documents an appeal was filed, which was dismissed, and the death sentence was upheld.

The judge noted that the case before the court related to the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under Article 9 and 10-A of the Constitution. “The question before the court is as to how interests of the state are to be balanced against the interest of an individual to his right to live as well as his right to due process,” he noted. He ruled: “Given that the fundamental question of protection of right to life and due process is in question, the petitioners shall not be executed till the disposal of the petition.”

The court directed the naval authorities to “file the opinion of the Chief of Naval Staff along with the reasoning as to why he formed an opinion that sharing the proceedings in relation to the petitioners will be detrimental to the interests of the state”.

The judge stated: “The opinion of the Chief of Naval Staff in the instant matter in terms of proviso to rule 193 of the Pakistan Navy Rules may be filed in a sealed envelope for the perusal of this court within a period of three weeks.”

Further hearing has been adjourned till July 1.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2024