Pakistan’s military courts have convicted and sentenced 25 people for their involvement in last year’s pro-Imran Khan unrest, the armed forces said on Saturday, with most of them being given decade-long prison terms.
Former Prime Minister Khan was arrested in May last year after he was ousted from office and launched an unprecedented defiance campaign against the country’s powerful military leaders.
His detention on corruption charges sparked nationwide unrest, with some targeting armed forces installations and rare trials of civilians in military courts.
Amnesty International called the move “an intimidation tactic designed to crush dissent” and said it was “contrary to international law”.
Military courts are largely opaque, but after months of secrecy the military public relations wing released the names of 25 people who have been tried.
All the convicted are men and 14 have been sentenced to a decade of “rigorous imprisonment”, with the army saying the remaining 11 will be given lesser prison terms.
A spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said, “All the sentences announced by military courts are disproportionate and excessive.” “These sentences are rejected.”
The decision was announced just three weeks after the capital Islamabad was hit by fresh unrest, as thousands of Khan supporters turned out to demand his release.
The government said at least five security personnel were killed, while PTI alleged that security forces shot at least 10 of their own before the mob retreated.
‘Political terrorism’
A military statement did not specify what crime each man was convicted of or when, listing only the location of their crime. The minimum punishment was two years.
The military statement said Pakistan “witnessed tragic incidents of politically instigated violence and arson at several places” during the May 2023 unrest.
“These blatant acts of violence not only shocked the nation, but also underlined the need to investigate this unacceptable attempt at political terrorism.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said, “No civilian should be tried in a military court under any circumstances”.
The organization has launched social media platforms
Former cricket star Khan served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed by a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
He blamed the then head of the powerful military establishment for his downfall. Pakistan’s generals are considered the country’s political kingmakers and have ruled the country directly for decades.
Khan’s May 2023 detention lasted a few days, but he was rearrested three months later and has remained in jail since then, facing a parade of court cases he claims are politically motivated. .
Meanwhile, PTI was targeted in a widespread crackdown following the unrest and thousands of grassroots supporters and senior officials were arrested.
The 72-year-old was barred from running in the February election, which was linked to allegations of rigging.
The PTI challenged the crackdown, winning more seats than any other party, but a coalition of parties considered more vulnerable to military influence formed a government and ousted them from power.
A UN panel of experts found in September that Khan’s detention “had no legal basis and appears to be intended to disqualify him from holding political office”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
