ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought clarification from the Pakistani government about a possible military trial of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan in connection with violent protests over his arrest last year that targeted government and military installations.
Protesters linked to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked and damaged government and military buildings on May 9, 2023, after his brief arrest that day in a land graft case. Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many continue to remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Last month, the army arrested retired general Faiz Hameed, former head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, who was widely believed to be close to Khan when he was PM from 2018-2022. The military said “multiple instances” of violation of the Pakistan Army Act post-retirement had been found against Hameed, in what was widely seen as a veiled reference to his continued support to Khan and his party, including in planning the May 2023 riots.
The developments raised fears within Khan supporters of his possible trial by a military court as Defense Minister Khawaja Asif even referred to Hameed as a “strategic adviser” to the PTI during the violence, prompting Khan to file a petition in the IHC against his possible military trial.
“The court has ordered the additional attorney general of Pakistan to clear the ambiguity by Monday, Sept 16 or the court will issue an interim order,” the PTI said in a statement sent to reporters. “The government, so far, has failed to maintain if the possible military trial of a former prime minister is still on the cards or if it was just a ploy to buy time for more gimmicks.”
In his petition, Khan has referred to Hameed’s arrest and to widespread media reports and speculation that the former spy chief would “be made an approver against the petitioner [Khan] in cases pertaining to May 9 and 10, 2023 and the petitioner will be transferred to military custody on this basis.”
The ex-premier also referred to recent statements by government officials that he should be tried in a military court and that the provisions of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 were applicable to him.
Khan and the PTI say the May 2023 riots have been used as a ruse by political rivals and the military to crack down on the party, which is arguably the most popular in Pakistan. Khan has also been indicted under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the violence. A section of Pakistan’s 1997 anti-terrorism act prescribes the death penalty as maximum punishment. Khan has denied the charges under the anti-terrorism law, saying he was in detention when the violence took place.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023 on a slew of charges that he says are “politically motivated” to keep him out of power and suppress the popularity of the PTI. Authorities deny the allegations.
Khan was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody, all of which have been either suspended or overturned by the courts. He, however, remains in jail on new charges relating to the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was the prime minister.
Court seeks government clarification on Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s possible military trial
https://arab.news/j4ucq
Court seeks government clarification on Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s possible military trial
- Imran Khan fears arrested former spy chief will be made an approver in May 2023 riots cases and he will be transferred to military custody
- The former premier, who is in jail since August 2023, has been indicted under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law in connection with last year’s violence
Imran Khan not a ‘national security threat,’ ex-PM’s party responds to Pakistan military
- Pakistan’s military spokesperson on Friday described Khan’s anti-army narrative as a “national security threat”
- PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan says words used by military spokesperson for Khan were “not appropriate”
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Saturday responded to allegations by Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry from a day earlier, saying that he was not a “national security threat.”
Chaudhry, who heads the military’s media wing as director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), spoke to journalists on Friday, in which he referred to Khan as a “mentally ill” person several times during the press interaction. Chaudhry described Khan’s anti-army narrative as a “national security threat.”
The military spokesperson was responding to Khan’s social media post this week in which he accused Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir of being responsible for “the complete collapse of the constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
“The people of Pakistan stand with Imran Khan, they stand with PTI,” the party’s secretary-general, Salman Akram Raja, told reporters during a news conference.
“Imran Khan is not a national security threat. Imran Khan has kept the people of this country united.”
Raja said there were several narratives in the country, including those that created tensions along ethnic and sectarian lines, but Khan had rejected all of them and stood with one that the people of Pakistan supported.
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, flanked by Raja, criticized the military spokesperson as well, saying his press talk on Thursday had “severely disappointed” him.
“The words that were used [by the military spokesperson] were not appropriate,” Gohar said. “Those words were wrong.”
‘NATURAL OUTCOME’
Speaking to reporters earlier on Saturday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif defended the military spokesperson’s remarks against Khan.
“When this kind of language is used for individuals as well as for institutions, then a reaction is a natural outcome,” he said.
“The same thing is happening on the Twitter accounts being run in his [Khan’s] name. If the DG ISPR has given any reaction to it, then I believe it was a very measured reaction.”
Khan, who was ousted after a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, blames the country’s powerful military for removing him from power by colluding with his political opponents. Both deny the allegations.
The former prime minister, who has been in prison since August 2023 on a slew of charges he says are politically motivated, also alleges his party was denied victory by the army and his political rivals in the 2024 general election through rigging.
The army and the government both deny his allegations.
