Military courts hand down punishments to 25 May 9 rioters: ISPR

• ISPR says conviction of remaining accused to be declared shortly. 
• “All convicts retain the right to appeal and other legal recourses.”
• Army’s media wing says certain cases referred for FGCM as per law. 

---

RAWALPINDI: Twenty-five individuals involved in the May 9, 2023, attacks on state installations have been sentenced to 2 to 10 years by military courts, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported on Saturday.

“Field General Court Martial (FGCM) have in [the] first phase promulgated the punishments to 25 accused,” the military’s media wing said, about the suspects who resorted to violence during the May 9 protests.

The protests broke out after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was taken into custody in a graft case. In turn, scores of PTI workers were arrested and more than 100 civilians are facing military trials.

However, the party maintains that it had no role in the incidents involving military installations, including the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ), and has called for a judicial probe into last year’s events.

“All convicts retain the right to appeal and other legal recourses, as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution,” the ISPR said in the statement.

The military trials were initially halted after a Supreme Court ruling; however, the constitutional bench had last week directed that the cases pending due to the earlier order be finalised and judgements in the cases of those accused found involved in these violent incidents be announced.

Explaining the attacks, the ISPR said that on May 9, the nation witnessed tragic incidents of politically provoked violence and arson at multiple places, marking a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan.

Building on a sustained narrative of hate and lies, the ISPR said, politically orchestrated attacks were carried out on the installations of the armed forces including the desecration of the monuments of Shuhada (martyrs).

“These blatant acts of violence not only shocked the nation but also underscored [the] necessity of checking this unacceptable attempt of political terrorism to impose own perverted will through violence and coercion.”

Sequel to the events of this ‘Black Day’, through meticulous investigations, irrefutable evidence was collected to legally prosecute the accused involved in the tragedy, the statement mentioned.

Certain cases were subsequently referred for Field General Court Martial as per law, it said, where they underwent trials following due process.

‘Important milestone’

The military’s media wing said that the handing down of sentences to the individuals was an “important milestone” in the dispensation of justice to the nation.

It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law into own hands ever in the future, the statement mentioned.

The ISPR further said that several accused are also being tried in various anti-terrorist courts and their cases are being pursued as per the law.

However, it said, justice would “truly be fully served” once the mastermind and planners of the May 9 tragedy are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land.

“The state of Pakistan will continue to vigorously pursue dispensation of justice to ensure the establishment of the inviolable writ of the state, so as to uproot this evil of violence-driven disruptive and destructive politics based on hate, divisiveness and baseless propaganda.”

The ruling comes days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military. An army general who served as the chief of country’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Faiz Hamid, is also facing a military investigation on the same charges.

Who has been punished?

• Jan Muhammad Khan s/o Toor Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Muhammad Imran Mehboob s/o Mehboob Ahmed — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Raja Muhammad Ehsan s/o Raja Muhammad Maqsood — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the GHQ attack incident
• Rehmat Ullah s/o Manjoor Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident
• Anwar Khan s/o Muhammad Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the PAF Base Mianwali incident
• Ali Iftikhar s/o Iftikhar Ahmed — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Zia ur Rehman s/o Azam Khurshid — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Adnan Ahmed s/o Sher Muhammad — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident
• Shakir Ullah s/o Anwar Shah — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident
• Abdul Hadi s/o Abdul Qayyum — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Ali Shan s/o Noor Muhammad — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Daud Khan s/o Shad Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Umar Farooq s/o Muhammad Sabbir — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in GHQ attack incident
• Babar Jamal s/o Muhammad Ajmal Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the PAF Base Mianwali incident
• Muhammad Afaq Khan s/o M Ishfaq Khan — 9 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Bannu Cantt incident
• Daud Khan s/o Ameer Zaib — 7 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Chakdara Fort incident
• Muhammad Hashir Khan s/o Tahir Bashir — 6 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Faheem Haider s/o Farooq Haider — 6 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Zahid Khan s/o Muhammad Khan — 4 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Multan Cantt Check Post incident
• Muhammad Ashiq Khan s/o Naseeb Khan — 4 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Yasir Nawaz s/o Ameer Nawaz Khan — 2 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident
• Khuram Shahzad s/o Liaqat Ali — 3 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Multan Cantt Check Post incident
• Muhammad Bilawal s/o Manzoor Hussain — 2 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Jinnah House incident
• Said Alam s/o Maaz Ullah Khan — 2 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident
• Laeeq Ahmed s/o Manzoor Ahmed — 2 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident