Defence ministry seeks time to form opinion on Army Act
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Defence sought time from the Supreme Court on Tuesday to make up its mind about an amendment to the Pakistan Army Act 1952 to remove an inconsistency because of which important documents of the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) are not provided to the accused.
Mujeebur Rehman, the counsel for the defence ministry, informed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that he had conveyed to the ministry the court’s concern over an apparent discrimination in the army act and observation that the law should be at a par with the rules governing other services.
On Monday, the court had asked the ministry to consider amending the army act on the lines of the amendments made in the Pakistan Air Force Act Rules 1957 and the Pakistan Navy Act.
The bench had taken up a petition filed by Col (retd) Mohammad Akram seeking an amendment to the army act to provide a convict reasons for the verdict so that he could voice his grievance in the appeal.
Advocate Rehman said the defence ministry wanted to see the court’s order and he had already applied for the same. Only after going through the order, the ministry would be in a position to form its opinion, the counsel said. The court adjourned the proceedings for three weeks.
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