The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has lifted a stay order on the death sentences of five former Pakistani Navy officers convicted by a field general court-martial. The stay, imposed on June 4, had halted the execution of the officers, who were found guilty of involvement in an attack on the Karachi Naval Dockyard.

The IHC dismissed a petition filed by the five officers – Arslan Nazir Sati, Muhammad Hamad, Muhammad Tahir Rashid, Hamad Ahmed, and Irfan Ullah – seeking access to the inquiry report and court-martial judgment. Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC made the decision after hearing arguments from the petitioners’ lawyers.

Colonel (Retd) Inaam-ur-Rehim, the lawyer for the petitioners, informed the court that the government had provided access to the inquiry report and judgment following the court’s order. He stated that copies had been obtained and reviewed.

Previously, Navy officials had refused to release the Board of Inquiry report, citing national security concerns. The court responded by stating that the incident was an act of terrorism and should not be treated as a matter of right to information.

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The five officers were sentenced to death by a court-martial for their involvement in the September 6, 2014, attack on the Karachi Naval Dockyard. The attack resulted in the death of one Navy officer and two attackers. A Navy tribunal subsequently sentenced the five officers on May 24, 2016.

The officers were convicted of having links to the terrorist group ISIS, mutiny, conspiracy, and bringing weapons onto the dockyard. Media reports suggest the attackers intended to hijack the Pakistani Navy ship PNS Zulfiqar and target a US Navy vessel. Security forces thwarted the attack, killing two attackers and apprehending four others. The lifting of the stay order paves the way for the execution of the death sentences, unless further legal challenges are mounted.