The Supreme Court (SC) suspended on Tuesday the Peshawar High Court's (PHC) order for the release of 196 alleged terrorists.

During the trial by a three-member bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam, the court suspended the PHC's order which set aside convictions of the prisoners and also ordered their release.

The SC has sought record of the cases of the 196 alleged terrorists from the federal government. The top court has also issued notices to the federal government and other parties involved, local media reported.

Military courts had sentenced 196 people for different offenses. The punishments handed down to them included death sentence, life imprisonment and up to 10 years in prison on various charges.