Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that only six first information reports (FIRs), out of a total of 499 registered in connection with violent protests in the country on May 9, could be tried in military courts.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said, \u201cOut of the 499 FIRs, there are only six that are being processed \u2014 two in Punjab and four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa \u2014 which can possibly be tried in military courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut an atmosphere is being created as if all are being tried in military courts,\u201d the minister added.<\/p>\n
Protests had erupted in the country following PTI Chairman Imran Khan\u2019s arrest on May 9. While the protests were underway, social media was flooded with footage of rioting and vandalism at various spots, including the Lahore Corps Commander House and General Headquarters, the army\u2019s head of office in Rawalpindi.<\/p>\n
The military had subsequently termed the events of May 9 a \u201cdark chapter\u201d and announced its intent to try the rioters under relevant laws, including two military laws \u2014 the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.<\/p>\n
The decision was endorsed by the National Security Committee, the country\u2019s principal decision-making forum on foreign policy and national security, amid opposition by rights organisations and activists.<\/p>\n
The PTI has approached the Supreme Court against the federal government\u2019s decision to prosecute civilians under the Army Act while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified earlier this week that only those accused of vandalising civilian infrastructures would be tried under the anti-terrorism law while those accused of vandalising military property would be put on trial under military laws.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Thursday had directed the superintendent of the city\u2019s Camp Jail to hand over 16 suspects arrested in connection with vandalism at Lahore Corps Commander\u2019s House to a military commanding officer.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s press conference, the interior minister said: \u201cOnly 19 accused have been handed over to the military courts or military officials in Punjab and 14 in KP\u201d.<\/p>\n
The PML-N leader said that the military authorities would investigate the case but would not take \u201ccognisance\u201d of it. They will see where the Army Act or the Official Secrets Act applies, he added.<\/p>\n
The minister further said that 88 of the 499 FIRs had been registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act while the remaining 411 had been registered on other charges, such as vandalism, arson or interfering in state matters.<\/p>\n
The minister said that almost 4,000 people had been arrested in connection with the cases registered under terrorism charges, adding that 2,588 of these were in Punjab and almost 1,100 were in KP.<\/p>\n
He added that 5,536 people had been arrested in the cases registered under other laws, \u201cof which almost 80 per cent have been released on bail\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sanaullah further said that the military laws were applicable on an individual when they trespassed on a building, or a part of a building, related to \u201cdefence\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese prohibited areas going there, trespassing, taking photos and spreading them, what kind of a protest is this? And if you give this the cover of a civilian protest or human rights, then which government can defend itself effectively?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Sanaullah highlighted that PM Shehbaz had assured the public that those who were found to be innocent would not be punished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister is focused on this, that no innocent should be harmed,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that only six first information reports (FIRs), out of a total of 499 registered in connection with violent protests in the country on May 9, could be tried in military courts. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said, \u201cOut of the 499 FIRs, there are only six […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-333487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n