Editing Pakistan Armed Forces (section)

==Military justice system==
{{Main|Judge Advocate General Branch}}

Pakistan's military justice system rests on the inter-services administrated [[Judge Advocate General Branch]] (JAG); all military criminal cases are overseen by the high-ranking officials of joint tribunals of the military.<ref name="Naval Institute Press">{{cite book|editor1-last=Fidell|editor1-first=Eugene R.|editor2-last=Sullivan|editor2-first=Dwight H.|title=Evolving military justice|year=2002|publisher=Naval Institute Press (1973)|location=Annapolis, Md.|isbn=978-1-55750-292-6|chapter=The Military Justice Administration in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF)|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3tYljWV_zEC&q=Evolving+military+justice|access-date=21 March 2014|archive-date=5 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205200146/https://books.google.com/books?id=G3tYljWV_zEC&q=Evolving+military+justice|url-status=live}}</ref> Each major service branch has its own service law: [[Pakistan Army|Army Justice Act]], promulgated in 1952; the [[Pakistan Air Force|PAF Justice Act]], established in 1953; and the [[Pakistan Navy|Navy Ordinance]], enacted in 1961.<ref name="U.S. Government sources">{{cite book|title=Judge Advocate General System in Pakistan Armed Forces|publisher=U.S. Government sources|isbn=978-0-7881-3631-3|display-authors=etal|date=December 1996}}</ref> The identities of active-duty uniformed JAG officials are kept classified and no details of such individuals are made available to media.<ref name="Naval Institute Press"/>

All three sets of service laws are administered by the individual major service branches under the central reporting supervision of the [[Ministry of Defence (Pakistan)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD).<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> The army has a four-tier system while the air force and navy have three-tier systems.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> The two top levels of all three-tier systems are the general court-martial and district court-martial; the third level comprises the field general court-martial in the army, air force, and navy. The fourth-level tier of the army comprises the summary court-martial.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> The differences in tier levels reflect whether their competence extends to officers or enlisted personnel, and the severity of the punishment that may be imposed.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/>

Pakistan's [[Supreme Court of Pakistan|Supreme Court]] and the [[Court system of Pakistan|civilian courts]] cannot question decisions handed down by the military judges, and double jeopardy is prohibited.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> In cases where a member of the military is alleged to have committed a crime against a civilian, then the MoD and [[Ministry of Justice (Pakistan)|Ministry of Justice]] (MoJ) determine the prosecution of the case to be tried, whether military or civilian courts have jurisdiction.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> Former servicemen in civilian life who are accused of felonies committed while on active duty are liable for prosecution under the jurisdiction of military courts.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> These courts are empowered to dispense a wide range of punishments including death.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/> All sentences of imprisonment are served in military prisons or detention barracks.<ref name="U.S. Government sources"/>