Pakistan’s Field General Court Martial sentenced 25 people on Saturday for their involvement in violent attacks on state-owned military installations, including the desecration of the monuments to the Shuhada (martyrs), during the May 2023 nationwide unrest. The sentences, which follow an earlier ruling on the case by the Pakistani Supreme Court, include “rigorous imprisonment” ranging from 2 to 10 years.
On the day of Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, thousands of his supporters stormed military buildings, including Jinnah House, the General Headquarters (GHQ) and the Pakistan Air Force base Mianwali, and set fire to them in protest against the former prime minister’s arrest. At least eight people were killed in the riots, and more than 4,000 people, including members of the opposition party, were later arrested by police. Saturday’s convictions were mainly based on these incidents.
ISPR, the armed force’s media wing, strongly condemned the events of May 9 as “blatant acts of violence.” The sentencing of the defendants was described as an important step towards the establishment of justice in the country. ISPR added that the judgment serves as “a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take the law into their own hands ever in the future.”
The Supreme Court’s provisional approval on December 13 of the trials of Imran Khan’s supporters in a military court, and the judgement delivered on Saturday, underscore reported concerns among the jailed former prime minister’s supporters that military courts will play a greater role in cases involving him.
Previously, Amnesty International maintained that trying civilians in Pakistani military courts and urged Pakistan not to impede the constitutional right to a fair trial by adopting an “intimidation tactic” to quell the dissent in the country. Even though Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not prohibit trying civilians in military courts, the right to a fair trial entails that the trials must be conducted impartially and independently. The group argued that Pakistani military courts are not independent courts and have records of “flagrant disregard for due process, lack of transparency, coerced confessions, and executions after grossly unfair trials.”
Notably, a significant number of persons indicted are also defendants in proceedings before anti-terrorist courts in accordance with the current legislation of the country.
In March 2022, then-prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was removed from power after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament and disqualified as a member of parliament, due to his conviction for corruption. Later, in November, he escaped an assassination attempt when leading a protest in the city of Wazirabad in Punjab province demanding early elections. On May 9, 2023, Khan was arrested in Islamabad during a corruption trial.
