ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government on Monday urged the Supreme Court to dismiss petitions against the military trial of those who instigated and attacked army properties after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested and detained on May 9 in a corruption case.
The embattled Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is embroiled in a confrontation with Pakistan’s all-powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan directly or overseen civilian governments throughout its history.
His May 9 arrest sparked widespread protests by his supporters who ransacked military facilities. Khan, who has since been released on bail, has repeatedly appealed for talks to end the standoff with the military but the government has rejected his call and threatened to ban Khan’s the PTI. In a press conference last month, a military spokesperson said 102 people were being tried by military courts in connection with the May 9 riots while 17 military courts were already functional.
Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, legal expert and politician Aitzaz Ahsan, and five civil society members have moved the apex court seeking an order declaring military trials unconstitutional.
Military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officers. The judges are also military personnel and cases are tried at military installations. Trials are closed to outsiders, and no media presence is allowed.
“The trial of those accused of violence against the armed forces … under the Army Act, is an apt and proportionate response, in accordance with the existing (and prevalent) constitutional framework and statutory regime of Pakistan,” the federal government said in its response submitted with the apex court.
Giving reasons for setting up military courts, the federal government said: “Armed forces, under Article 245 of the constitution have been charged with the obligation to defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war.”
The government added that the country’s constitutional framework allowed perpetrators of anti-state vandalism and violence to be tried under the Army Act to create deterrence.
Since May 9, hundreds of members of Khan’s PTI party have jumped ship while thousands of his supporters, according to Khan, remain in prison. The former prime minister has also openly accused the military and its intelligence agency of trying to destroy his party, repeatedly saying he knows he will be tried by a military court and thrown into jail.
The military says it is not behind a crackdown on political activities or activists but will only punish those who instigated and attacked army properties.
Since being ousted from power last April, Khan has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the army, which has ruled the nation for nearly half of its 75-year history and continues to wield massive influence.
When Khan came into office in 2018, most understood it was with the backing of the generals. Independent analysts likewise said when he left power it was because he had fallen out of favor with the top brass.
In opposition Khan has made explosive claims about the military’s involvement in politics, including that a top general plotted a November assassination attempt in which he was shot in the leg while he campaigned for fresh polls.
His arrest last month came just hours after he repeated the allegations at a rally. Khan now says the purpose of military courts is to put him in prison and dismantle his party, which the army and government deny.
Pakistan’s Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state. Civilians can only be tried there under a federal government order.
Civilians accused of offenses such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or attacking military installations or inciting mutiny, can be tried at military courts.
