By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan's Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to form military courts to try "hardcore terrorists."
A full 17-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, rejected all petitions filed by lawyers and human rights groups against the formation of military courts on Wednesday.
Six of the judges opposed the idea of military courts, including Justice Jawwad S Khawaja who will be sworn-in as the next chief justice later in August.
The government, with the support of the main opposition parties, had approved the formation of military courts for two years through after a deadly militant attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed over 140 people, mostly students, last December.
Pakistani activists and rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, criticized the government's decision even though it claimed the courts would only deal with high-profile terror cases. Human Rights Watch said Pakistan could pay an "unacceptable price" if it allowed the courts to operate without public scrutiny.
The Supreme Court stayed the executions of six militants who were handed down death penalties by a military court in April.
