After 1 and a half year, at last the military courts convicted 102 civilians, PTI activists who were charged with attacking military installations on May 9. The military establishment got the clean chit from the elected parliament comprising the apparent champions of democracy.
It is always controversial whether the military court can convict the civilians. All judicial benches and the bars had never unanimously given verdict in favour of trials in military courts of civilians before 26 December. Even after the suspension of Pakistan Army Act 1952 (A) by the Supreme Court, the ruling junta brought another weapon from their end of the constitutional court despite opposition from all fronts. This constitutional court is still controversial because it is comprised by 16 members, majority from the executive.
When the Attorney General requested that military courts have already completed the process of prosecution, as they convicted these 102 civilians including Imran Khan’s nephew and two retired military officials, the decisions is still conditioned upon the constitutional courts and petitions can be made.
There are more than 1500 people arrested in terrorist courts and the most important case is of the ex-spy chief General Faiz Hameed who was accused by the military junta as the mastermind behind the May 9 riots. The military establishment also considers Imran Khan colluding in the violent protests on the dark day.
So, the (not so) Sharif government are pressuring in the form of a chorus that without the conviction of Imran Khan in the military court the process is not complete. Maybe the internal reaction wasn’t big enough because of the persecution of PTI supporters. However, the reaction from the western world, particularly European Union and America bypass ambassadorial language in support of ‘qaidi’ number 804.
It isn’t easy for the government and the ‘babu’ of Foreign Office to ignore such compelling pressure.
