RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Thursday confirmed the death sentences of 12 convicts tried by military courts, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The 12 "hardcore terrorists" were involved in "committing heinous offences relating to terrorism", which include the Bannu jailbreak, attacks on armed forces, law enforcement agencies and civilians, ISPR said.

Of those convicted, eight men belong to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), two belong to Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and two to Al Qaeda, ISPR said.

Details of the convicts provided by ISPR:

1. Muhammad Arbi s/o Hafiz Muhammad Sadiq The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in abetting the attack on Bannu Jail, owing to which large number of terrorists managed to escape from the jail and also caused injuries to police constables and soldiers. He was also involved in attacking LEAs which caused death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded the death sentence.

2. Rafi Ullah s/o Muhammad Miskeen The convict was an active member of SSP. He was involved in abetting the murder of Syed Waqar Haider and causing injury to Abdul Sattar Tahir in Lahore. He was tried on two charges and awarded a death sentence.

3. QariAsifMehmood s/o Muhammad Anwar The convict was an active member of SSP. He was involved in abetting murder of Syed Waqar Haider and causing injury to Abdul Sattar Tahir in Lahore. He was also in possession of fire arms and explosives. He was tried on four charges and awarded a death sentence.

4. Shawaleh s/o Gul Khan The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking LEAs which caused death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded death sentence.

5. Muhammad Zeeshan s/o Abdul Qayyum Khan The convict was an active member of Al Qaeda. He was involved in attacking Armed Forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offence before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried and awarded a death sentence.

6. Nasir Khan s/o Khan Afsar Khan The convict was an active member of Al Qaeda. He was involved in attacking armed forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded a death sentence.

7. Shoukat Ali s/o Abdul Jabbar The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking LEAs and armed forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on five charges and awarded a death sentence.

8. Imdadullah s/o Abdul Wajid The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in destruction of an educational institution in Buner district and attacking LEAs which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on five charges and awarded a death sentence.

9. Muhammad Umar s/o Saida Jan The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in destruction of an educational institution in Pakistan and attacking armed forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on five charges and awarded a death sentence.

10.Sabir Shah s/o Syed Ahmed Shah The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking armed forces which resulted in death of soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded death sentence.

11. Khandan s/o Dost Muhammad Khan The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking armed forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded a death sentence.

12. Anwar Ali s/o Fazal Ghani The convict was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking armed forces which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. He admitted his offences before a magistrate and the trial court. He was tried on three charges and awarded a death sentence.

On Dec 2 last year, four terrorists involved in the APS massacre were hanged at a civil jail in Kohat. The hangings were the first executions of civilians convicted by Pakistan's military courts.

Military courts

Political parties had unanimously agreed over the issue of setting up military courts to tackle terrorism cases in the country following the gruesome attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, following which the Parliament passed the 21st constitutional amendment in Jan 2015 to set up the said courts.

President Mamnoon Hussain had also promulgated an ordinance further revising the recently amended Army Act to ostensibly aid the functioning of military courts by allowing for trials in camera, i.e without the presence of the public or the media, and over video link if necessary.

The Supreme Court in a majority ruling upheld the establishment of military courts in Pakistan.

Examine: Military courts: a wrong move

Petitions challenging the 21st amendment were dismissed in August this year in a majority 11-6 vote of the 17-member SC bench. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Dost Muhammad announced the verdict.

In a 14-3 majority vote, petitions challenging the 18th amendment were also dismissed by the bench. Judges provided seven opinions and two additional notes on the ruling.