Said Zaman Khan v. Federation of Pakistan

In the aftermath of the Peshawar school massacre on 16 December 2014, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responded by lifting its moratorium on the death penalty and authorizing military courts to try civilians charged with terrorism, through the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan.^[1] Persons accused of terrorism were tried by field general court martial (FGCM). In the event of conviction, their death warrants were signed by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif throughout 2015 and 2016.^[2]

The terror suspects included members of militant groups Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and al-Qaeda, and were convicted for involvement in:

• Peshawar school massacre, 16 December 2014
• Bannu jailbreak, 25 April 2012
• Rawalpindi Parade Lane bombing, 4 December 2009
• Naushera mosque attack, 12 June 2009
• Attacks on law enforcement agencies

A five-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Amir Hani Muslim, Sh. Azmat Saeed, Manzoor Ahmad Malik, and Faizal Arab upheld the death sentences, observing that the petitioners could not prove that the trials by the FGCM were mala fide with a collateral purpose.^{[citation needed]}