RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's nephew Hassan Khan Niazi is among 60 more "culprits" sentenced by the military court for their involvement in the May 9 riots, the military's media wing said yesterday.

"The Field General Court Martial has promulgated the punishments to the following remaining 60 culprits after examining all evidence, ensuring the provision of all legal rights to the convicts, completion of due process and the appropriate legal proceedings," said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release.

Underscoring the conclusion of the military trial of all the accused, involved in the May 9 riots, under military custody, the ISPR noted that all the convicted individuals retained the right to appeal and other legal resources, as guaranteed by the Constitution and the law."The nation, government, and the armed forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained," said the ISPR.

The development came days after the military courts, on December 21, sentenced 25 civilians to periods of two to 10 years of "rigorous imprisonment" in connection with attacks on military facilities in 2023, the ISPR had said.

The US, UK and EU had expressed concerns over the sentencing of the civilians by the military courts, maintaining that the convictions were against the international law.Responding to the concerns raised by the foreign countries, the Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday said that the military courts' judgments were made under a law enacted by the parliament and in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

In a statement, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: "Pakistan is fully committed to fulfilling all its international human rights obligations."

Speaking to a local TV channel Brigadier (retd) Waqar Hassan called for bringing "master planners" of the riots to the justice. He further said the May 9 rioters were receiving instructions from abroad to target the military installations.

"Some people were victims of political schemes. It's crucial to apprehend those behind this [May 9 riots]," he added. Syed Muhammad Ali, an expert on national security affairs, said the sentences were not announced in haste and the due process was followed.

He said the Field Marshal is aware of right to appeal "so certainly would have taken all due care". "No constitutional or international rights give right to attack state institutions." Referring to the western countries, the expert further questioned the conduct of those countries criticizing the military courts decision, asking what have they during war on terror.

"They themselves did not respect constitution of so many countries.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 27 2024

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