Politics

How can 10,000 people be tried under army laws? asks Fawad Chaudhry

Published

11 months ago

Farwa

Political temperature not coming down, laments Fawad.
Fawad distances himself from May 09 violence.
PTI leader presented before Islamabad High Court.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday wondered how thousands of people could be tried under the Pakistan Army Act after the military vowed to bring all those involved in May 9 violence to justice.

The army vowed on Monday to try the protesters and their abettors under relevant laws, including the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act, after PTI workers and supporters stormed military installations on May 9, which the army dubbed as “Black Day”.

“How would they pursue the cases against eight to ten thousand people,” Fawad asked while responding to journalists’ questions when he was brought to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for an appearance in a case.

The violence that took place after Imran Khan’s arrest escalated tensions between the government and PTI as several cases were registered against the party leaders for alleged involvement in inciting the riots.

Keeping in view the current state of affairs, Fawad proposed reconciliation between the two sides to bring down the political temperature.

“The political temperature wasn’t coming down. It is better that the matters move towards reconciliation,” Fawad suggested.

Army vows to try violent protesters under military law

A special corps commanders’ conference, presided over by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir at GHQ decided that those involved in attacks on military installations, personnel and equipment during violence created on May 9, would be tried under military laws.

“The forum expressed [a] firm resolve that those involved in these heinous crimes against the military installations and personal/ equipment will be brought to justice through trials under relevant laws of Pakistan including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act,” the statement mentioned.

The military’s top brass also resolved that restraint will no longer be exercised against perpetrators, spoilers, and violators who attack military installations and setups under any circumstances.

The ISPR, quoting the commanders, said that based on the irrefutable evidence collected so far, the armed forces are well aware of the planners, instigators, abettors, and perpetrators of these attacks “and attempts to create distortions in this regard are absolutely futile”.

The forum was briefed that a well-coordinated arson plan — involving the desecration of Shuhada pictures, monuments, burning down of historical buildings and vandalism of military installations — was “executed to malign the institution and provoke it towards giving an impulsive reaction”.

The forum condemned, in the strongest possible sense, the politically motivated and instigated incidents against military installations and public and private properties.

“The commanders also communicated the anguish and sentiments of the rank and file of the army on these unfortunate and unacceptable incidents,” the statement said.

Latest News

The IHC upholds Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail was granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.

The former first lady Bushra Bibi’s application to be transferred from Bani Gala sub-jail to Adiala was heard today.

Details reveal that the Islamabad High Court heard a motion to restore the denied petition about the relocation of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder, from sub-jail Bani Gala to Adiala.

The application for the reinstatement of appeal was heard by Justice Miagul Hassan Aurangzeb. When state attorney Abdul Rehman entered the courtroom on behalf of the state, Usman Riaz Gill represented the former first lady.

State counsel did not object to the appeal being restored during court proceedings. At the following hearing, the court asked for assistance in determining what conditions must be met for a location to be designated as a sub-jail.

The court also mandated that Bushra Bibi’s medical examination be scheduled. The court subsequently delayed the hearing and gave instructions to fix the appeal for April 22.

Recall that the attorneys for former first lady Bushra Bibi, Barrister Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz Gill, and Khalid Yusuf Chaudhary, had filed an application to restore the dismissed appeal a day ago, but the Islamabad High Court had denied their request to pursue the case.

The petition contended that the traffic gridlock at the Sarina Chowk checkpoint was the reason for the delay in getting to the court.

The attorneys did not purposefully take their time getting to court. They warned that the petitioner would suffer irreversible loss if the petition was not resurrected.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has voiced his displeasure at the absence of attorneys from the court.

According to Judge Aurangzeb, the former first lady would have been imprisoned if Bushra Bibi’s attorneys had prevailed in this case. The attorneys themselves were opposed to Bushra Bibi’s incarceration.

Latest News

oath-taking ceremony for the Balochistan cabinet postponed

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

The Balochistan cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony, which was supposed to take place at the Governor’s House today (Thursday), has been rescheduled.
The Governor’s House spokeswoman announced that the Balochistan cabinet’s swearing-in event has been postponed. Nevertheless, there was no explanation provided for the ceremony’s postponement.

It is important to note that the 14-member Balochistan cabinet, which consists of two members from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and six ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was set to take the oath of office today, Thursday.

Latest News

Senior PML-N leaders want the X ban lifted.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

A veteran party leader and former railways minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, claimed the caretaker government’s social media ban didn’t help anyone.

Saad Rafique warned his party’s present government to avoid becoming a laughing stock since politics requires political moves.

“Bans and prohibitions come where dictatorship prevails over democracy,” PML-N veteran Javed Abbasi remarked of the social media ban.

“Can we ban matches factories fearing they ignite fire?” he asked. He said, “We scare of truth and try to keep it under the veil.”

He called the PML-N administration cruel for banning free speech.

The Interior Ministry said the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday that X, formerly Twitter, needed to be banned since it violated Pakistani legislation.

Interior Secretary Khurram Agha reported on the high court’s rulings on the social media ban petition for the ministry.

Social networking site X was down for two months in Pakistan when the hearing took place.