Pakistan faces backlash over military court convictions of 25 civilians

 

FILE – Police detain a supporter of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan who with others was protesting against Khan's arrest, in Lahore, Pakistan, May 10, 2023.

Islamabad —

The European Union Sunday decried military court verdicts against 25 supporters of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, affirming that these rulings contravene the country’s international obligations to ensure a fair and public trial for civilians.

The individuals were tried and sentenced to “vigorous imprisonment” ranging from two to 10 years in connection with attacks on military facilities during nationwide anti-government protests in May 2023, as announced by the Pakistani army on Saturday.

The statement did not provide further details or publicize the verdicts, promising to announce sentences to the dozens of remaining accused “in connection with the violence as and when the due process is complete.”

In a statement released Sunday, the EU expressed concern over the sentencing of the 25 civilians.

“These verdicts are seen as inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” it said.

The multilateral treaty obligates nations to provide individuals “with a fair and public trial in a court that is independent, impartial and competent, and has the right to adequate and effective legal representation.”

The EU stated the treaty mandates that any judgment rendered in a criminal case be made public.

The statement emphasized that countries benefiting from the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus, or GSP+, facility, including Pakistan, have voluntarily agreed to implement 27 international core conventions, including the ICCPR, effectively.

The GSP+ designation grants zero import duties on more than two-thirds of tariff lines when exporting to the European Union, providing Pakistan, a cash-strapped nation, with a major and crucial trade partner.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party, which led the anti-government protests last year, promptly rejected the rulings as a blatant violation of human rights and the rule of law within the country. The party has long asserted that the riots were the result of operatives within the military who had infiltrated ranks of peaceful protesters.

“The actual perpetrators orchestrated a false flag operation on that day and are now utilizing military trials to serve as judge, jury and executioner, targeting innocent civilians,” the PTI asserted in a tweet on its X social media platform.

Since August 2023, Khan has been incarcerated and faces multiple charges, including allegedly inciting attacks against military facilities, despite being in police custody when the nationwide protests erupted last year, demanding his release.

Pakistan’s prestigious English-language DAWN newspaper slammed the military convictions in a Sunday editorial.

“Can serving officers, bound by military hierarchy, truly provide independent judgments? The one-line descriptions of convictions accompanying the names of the 25 individuals hardly qualify as reasoned judgments,” the paper asked.

“That such trials are occurring under civilian leadership adds a layer of irony to this distressing situation. Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values,” the editorial read.

 

By：VOA