By Press Trust of India: In a major, 16 activists of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, along with a former lawmaker, had been handed over to the military authorities on Thursday for his or her trial beneath the stringent Army Act and the Official Secrets Act for allegedly torching the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, additionally referred to as Jinnah House.
On May 9, violent protests erupted after paramilitary Rangers arrested Khan from the Islamabad High Court premises. His social gathering workers vandalised a dozen military installations, along with the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, the Mianwali airbase and the ISI developing in Faisalabad in response to Khan’s arrest. The mob moreover stormed the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for the first time.
Since the widespread violence, the federal authorities has cracked down on Khan’s supporters, arresting 1000’s of people and threatening trials sooner than military courts.
“On the orders of the anti-terrorism court, the camp jail Lahore superintendent on Thursday handed over 16 prime suspects including former lawmaker Mian Akram Usman of attack on the Corps Commander Lahore House known as Jinnah House to a military commanding officer,” a Punjab government official told PTI.
He said over 2,000 people, mostly workers of Khan’s party, have been arrested in connection with the attack on the Corps Commander’s house. However, the role of these 16 have been established for vandalizing and torching the residence.
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Khan has claimed that 10,000 workers of his party have been arrested across the country for allegedly attacking military installations and state buildings on May 9.
The military said only those involved in attacking the military installations will be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.
“The commanding officer educated the ATC that the 16 suspects in question by committing the offences have develop to be the subject to the Pakistan Army Act 1952 and fully liable to be investigated and tried by the military authorities in court docket docket martial,” the official said.
The Amnesty International has strongly opposed the selection of making an attempt civilians in military courts.
In an announcement, the rights physique said it has documented an inventory of human rights violations stemming from making an attempt civilians in military courts in Pakistan, along with flagrant disregard for due course of, a shortage of transparency and coerced confessions.
It has often known as upon authorities to immediately reverse the handing over of civilians to the military for a trial and confused that civilians must solely be prosecuted in a civilian court docket docket using uncommon felony authorized tips commensurate with the offence.
Khan has moreover strongly condemned court docket docket martial of civilians and termed it illegal and in direction of the construction.
Also Read: Cops at Parvaiz Elahi’s Lahore residence as crackdown on Imran Khan’s social gathering continues
