Pakistan's top court rules military courts illegal
03:37 a.m. Feb 17, 1999 Eastern

ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that special military courts, whose rulings have already resulted in the executions of two men, were unconstitutional, a court official said.

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif set up the courts in early December to try to speed up justice in the violent port city of Karachi, but opposition and human rights groups challenged their validity in the Supreme Court.

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