In an interview with Al Jazeera, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif defended the government’s decision to try civilians involved in the May 9 violent protests in military courts, calling the protests “an act of rebellion”.

“They planned it. It was not spontaneous. You must understand the gravity of the offence, the gravity of events which took place,” he told Al Jazeera.

Justifying the government’s decision, Asif asserted, “There is going to be absolute transparency in these cases.”

“There are three layers of appeals that go through the army chief, the high court and then the Supreme Court,” he said.