F-16 fighter jet. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan block a highway, during a protest against his arrest, in Karachi, Pakistan May 9, 2023. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S., UK and EU criticized Pakistan’s military courts on Monday (December 24, 2024) over the sentencing of 25 civilians in connection with attacks on military facilities in 2023 after the arrest of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The civilians were sentenced by a Pakistani military court to periods of two to 10 years in a ruling that underscored concerns among Khan’s supporters that military courts will play a bigger role in cases related to the former leader.

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Washington “is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023,” the U.S. State Department said.

The British government’s foreign office added that “trying civilians in military courts lacks transparency, independent scrutiny and undermines the right to a fair trial.”

The European Union said the sentences were “inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

Khan supporters attacked military installations to protest his arrest by paramilitary soldiers.

The ruling on Saturday came days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court. After his arrest in May 2023, Khan was briefly released before being arrested again in August that year and he has since been in jail.

He has faced dozens of cases since he was removed as prime minister in 2022, after which he launched a protest movement against a coalition of his rivals led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Khan says cases against him, which disqualified him from contesting the 2024 elections, are politically motivated. He had a fallout with Pakistan’s military that he blames for his ouster.

Candidates whom Khan backed secured the highest number of seats in the elections. However, his rivals formed a coalition government. A U.N. human rights working group has said Khan’s detention violates international law.

The military denies political interference. Pakistan’s government denies being unfair in the treatment of Khan or his supporters. The Pakistani embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.

Former ISI chief Faiz Hameed.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Pakistan’s ruling coalition has hailed the arrest of former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd.) Faiz Hameed in connection with a housing scheme scandal but jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party decided to stay neutral and termed it the army’s “internal matter”.

Mr. Hameed served as the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021, when Mr. Khan was prime minister and was accused of meddling in political affairs at his behest.

According to the Army, he was arrested on Monday (August 12, 2024) by military authorities and court martial proceedings were initiated against him under provisions of the Pakistan Army Act for alleged misuse of authority. His arrest followed a probe into complaints against him by the owner of Top City Housing Society over an alleged raid at his house.

Asserting that the military’s actions were “internal”, former premier Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chairman, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, said the army is a disciplined and organised institution with its own procedures for dealing with both serving and retired officers, the Dawn newspaper reported.

However, members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, Senator Afnan, Rana Sanaullah as well as Pakistan People Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, were more open in their views on the move, with Tarar calling it a “right decision”.

“Action against Faiz Hameed would have been taken on the basis of investigation,” the minister said.

Pointing out that only a brief announcement had been made by the military spokesman about the ex-ISI DG, Senator Siddiqui said, “When investigation will go forward, his (Hameed’s) political meddling will also be proved.” Siddique quoted PTI founder Khan as saying that Hameed had supported his party inside Parliament by getting legislation passed and meeting the required number of members in the National Assembly.

He said Mr. Hameed also remained involved in the general elections by backing the PTI.

The senator said the former ISI chief had controlled the media and politicians and tried to control the judiciary as well.

Senior PML-N leader Sanaullah alleged that Hameed was involved in “political meddling” and on his instruction, the Faizabad sit-in was staged by a religious group, choking the main arteries of the federal capital for weeks.

Mr. Sanaullah said action against him was taken in the light of the Supreme Court’s order in the private housing scheme, Top City, whose owner filed a petition in the Supreme Court on 2023 , accusing Hameed of misusing his authority.

The owner stated in the petition that on May 12, 2017, at the behest of Gen Hameed, ISI officials raided the top city office and his house and seized valuables, including gold, diamonds and money.

Hailing the military’s internal accountability system, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said an inquiry had confirmed multiple violations by Hameed that prompted the initiation of disciplinary proceedings under the Pakistan Army Act.

He said if the military had decided to proceed with such measures against a high-ranking officer, it indicated the severity of the offences committed.

“Gen Faiz has definitely had a hand in the events on the political scene since his retirement. Knowing him a little bit, he could not abstain and had to muddy the waters,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News.

Thousands of people rallied on July 19 against a planned operation by the Pakistan military to root out militants along the Afghan border, with at least one protester killed when gunfire broke out, officials and witnesses said.

More than 10,000 people waving white flags and calling for peace gathered for the rally in Bannu – 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Afghanistan – where a suicide bomber on Monday rammed an explosive-packed vehicle into an army enclave, killing eight Pakistani troops.

“Military operations have been ongoing for 20 years, yet peace has not been established,” protester Jamaluddin Wazir told AFP.

“Military operations can never be a substitute for peace.”

Pakistan’s government announced earlier this year, without giving details, that the military would launch a new campaign to counter violence in areas along the border with Afghanistan, which has surged following the Taliban government’s return to power.

Friday’s protest turned violent when crowds reached the walls of an army facility and gunfire broke out, witnesses and officials reported.

“They chanted slogans against the army, and some started throwing stones at the facility’s wall. This led to firing in the air by the military, causing a stampede,” an intelligence official in the nearby city of Peshawar told AFP on condition of anonymity.

At least one protester died, according to Pakhtun Yar, the provincial minister for public health, who was a speaker at the protest.

He accused the military of opening fire on the protesters.

“During the rally, shots were fired directly at me and the people standing near me. This wasn’t just firing in the air — it was intended to kill us,” Yar told AFP.

“The shooting was carried out by those who want to destroy our peace. They want to spill the blood of our people, but the community is no longer willing to tolerate this.”

Influential military

For years the Pakistan Taliban – a separate group from the Afghan Taliban but with a similar ideology – waged a bloody campaign in the area, killing thousands of civilians and taking control of parts of the border region, before being pushed back by a military campaign that began in 2014.

The clearance operation displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed countless homes and businesses, sparking a local backlash calling for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns to be protected.

But protests against the powerful military, which analysts say holds large sway over the government and foreign policy, are rare and often brought down quickly.

Former prime minister Imran Khan, who waged a campaign of defiance against army chiefs after being ousted from power, is currently in jail on charges of inciting protests against the military.

His party has faced a major crackdown, with supporters and leaders rounded up last year for staging an unprecedented day of rallies against the military, accusing it of interfering in politics.

Violence has surged along the border since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of failing to root out groups taking shelter on Afghan soil while preparing assaults on Pakistan.

The Taliban government insists it will not allow foreign militant outfits to operate from Afghanistan, but Islamabad-Kabul relations have soured over the issue.