Military court convicts civilians involved in 2023 unrest, while human rights groups criticize the ruling as an “intimidation tactic.”
Pakistan has imprisoned 25 civilians over attacks on military installations that followed the arrest of the former prime minister Imran Khan In 2023.
The army’s public relations wing confirmed the ruling on Saturday, noting that a military court had issued aggravated prison sentences ranging from two to ten years, and 14 people faced a ten-year prison sentence.
The statement did not specify the accusations, but referred to the actions committed by Khan’s supporters Storming military headquarters They burned the house of a general during the unrest in May 2023, as “political terrorism.”
She said the ruling was a “stark reminder… to never take the law into their own hands”.
The army said others accused of the violence that killed at least eight people were being tried in anti-terrorism courts and justice would only be fully achieved when the “mastermind and planners” were punished.
Amnesty International described the ruling as an “intimidation tactic aimed at suppressing dissent.”
Politically motivated
Former cricket star Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when Parliament removed him in a vote of no confidence, blaming the then head of the powerful military for his downfall.
He was 72 years old Imprisonment for days in May 2023, and then again three months later, and he has remained in prison ever since, facing a parade of court cases that he claims are politically motivated.
Meanwhile, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The PTI has been subjected to a massive crackdown, with thousands of popular supporters and senior officials arrested.
Khan was banned from running in the elections in February this year, which were marred by allegations of fraud.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party, but was excluded from power by a coalition of parties considered more susceptible to military influence.
Last month, protests and unrest swept the capital, Islamabad, again, as thousands of PTI supporters attempted to occupy a public square on the doorstep of Parliament.
Saturday’s ruling came days after the Anti-Terrorism Court indicted Khan on charges of incitement to launch attacks against the army.
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