Military court jails 25 over May 9 riots

KARACHI (Reuters): Twenty-five civilians were sentenced by a military court to periods of two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” in connection with attacks on military facilities last year on May 9, the armed forces’ media wing said on Saturday.

The ruling underscores concerns among supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan that military courts are going to play a bigger role in cases involving the 72-year-old, who is facing multiple charges including allegedly inciting attacks against the armed forces.

Thousands of Khan supporters stormed military installations and torched a general’s house on May 9, 2023 to protest against the former premier’s arrest by paramilitary soldiers. At least eight people were killed in the violence.

The military’s Inter-Services Public Relations office said the sentences handed down on Saturday were an “important milestone in dispensation of justice to the nation”.

“It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law in own hands,” it added in a statement.

Others charged over the violence were being tried in anti-terrorism courts but justice would only be fully served “once the mastermind and planners … are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land,” the military said.

The ruling comes days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military. An army general who served under him as his spy chief, Faiz Hamid, is facing a military investigation on the same charges.