Imran Khan’s nephew, retired officers among 60 handed jail sentence

A military court sentenced sixty civilians to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years in connection with attacks on military facilities following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in 2023, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.

Those sentenced include a relative of Khan as well as two retired military officers. Days earlier, 25 others were sentenced on the same charges.

Khan’s arrest in May 2023 sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals.

“The Nation, Government, and the Armed Forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained,” ISPR said in a statement.

The sentences have sparked concerns among Khan’s supporters that military courts will play a more significant role in cases related to the former leader, who is facing multiple charges, including inciting attacks against the armed forces.

The international community has also expressed concerns over the sentencing. The United States stated it is “deeply concerned” about the sentences, while the United Kingdom’s foreign office noted that trying civilians in military courts “lacks transparency, independent scrutiny and undermines the right to a fair trial”.

The European Union also criticized the sentences, saying they are “inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said the military court sentences were in line with a Supreme Court ruling.

“Pakistan’s legal system is consistent with international human rights law including provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” the FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.

Khan’s supporters have denied any wrongdoing, and Khan himself claims that the cases against him are politically motivated.