Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s defense minister has defended the government’s decision to try civilians before military courts, calling their alleged attacks on military installations during the recent protests an “act of rebellion against the state”.
Khawaja M. Asif told Al Jazeera that the arrests of thousands of civilians over protests sparked by the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan this month were justified and claimed army facilities had been deliberately attacked.
“These people attacked them [the military’s] Offices. They raided their homes. They have attacked their facilities, such as air bases,” Asif said in an interview on Wednesday. “You planned it. It wasn’t spontaneous. You have to understand the gravity of the offense, the gravity of the events that took place.”
Thousands of Khan supporters took to the streets on May 9-10 in anger at the arrest of Pakistan’s main opposition leader. Much of this anger has been directed at the powerful military, which protesters accuse of orchestrating the arrest of their leader.
Several military buildings and installations were attacked, some set on fire as clashes with security forces resulted in at least 10 fatalities.
While Khan’s party says more than 10,000 people were arrested and detained in an unprecedented crackdown, the government says it has arrested more than 4,000 people involved in rioting and vandalism, using surveillance technology to detect them track down.
The government had said it would try the protesters under the Army Act, sparking outrage from human rights groups. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later insisted that only those who attacked the army’s infrastructure would be tried under the military law.
When it was passed in 1952, the Army Act’s primary purpose was to try military personnel in military courts. Subsequent changes also allowed civilians accused of certain crimes to be tried by military courts.
If convicted by a military court, the accused have the right to appeal to a military appeals court within 40 days. If the defendants still believe that they did not receive a fair trial, they can appeal to the Supreme Court of the jurisdiction in which they were tried.
On Thursday, an anti-terrorist court in the eastern city of Lahore authorized the surrender of 16 suspects, including a former MP from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, to a military court. It is unclear when the process will begin.
Asif defended the decision to try civilians in military courts and said the government will ensure transparency during the trials.
“There will be absolute transparency in these cases,” he said. “There are three tiers of appeals that go through the army chief, the Supreme Court, and then the Supreme Court.”
But human rights groups have raised concerns. Last week, Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, an independent civil rights group, strongly opposed the use of military law to try civilians.
“While those responsible for arson and damage to public and private property during recent protests should be held accountable, they remain entitled to due process,” the group said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also called on the Pakistani government to respect the rights of those arrested during the protests.
The military has long been seen as the broker of power in Pakistan, but Asif insisted that it is the ruling alliance that is calling the shots in the ongoing crackdown on protesters. He accused the demonstrators of attacking the country.
“These people actually challenged the state. If it went against the political government, there was no problem. It is perfectly fine to criticize and challenge the political government, but these people exceptionally chose to target army installations on May 9-10,” he told Al Jazeera.
Khan “thinks his opponent is Pakistan’s armed forces and not some political party. If there were an army government or martial law, you [can] I will question that, but not the institution [itself]’ said the minister.
Senator Faisal Javed Khan, a senior PTI leader, dismissed Asif’s allegations and said the only way to find out if the protesters were guilty is through an independent investigation by a judicial commission.
“Our position is very clear: if you conduct a free and fair investigation, you will find that this riot was perpetrated by violent villains who were not PTI people, and that it was done to damage the relationship between the PTI and harming the military,” he said Thursday.
failed attempts
Asif insisted the government had made attempts to resolve political tensions and held at least three rounds of talks with the PTI.
“There was a solution,” he said. “There was an agreement between the two delegations. We offered them to hold elections in early October. Even the date was fixed. But Imran Khan refused to accept it. Showing their utter helplessness, the PTI delegation said: “We totally agree with you, but our leader does not.”
Faisal Javed Khan said no date had been set. He denied the guilt of the former prime minister and the PTI, and questioned how the negotiations could be productive if the authorities raided the homes of PTI leaders.
“This is pure hypocrisy,” said the senator. “If the government thinks there is a solution or a date has been agreed, then why hasn’t they announced it? It’s not about Khan or the party. It is about implementing and respecting the constitution.”
“How can you say that when our delegation team said categorically that there was no result,” he said.
Faisal Javed Khan said Pakistani citizens knew the former PM respected the army and any attempt to ban the PTI would fail.
“Imran Khan always said that Pakistan needs the army more than me,” the senator said. “He has reiterated at every forum that the military is the country’s need and must be respected.”
Over the decades, the military has been accused of violating its constitutional oath not to interfere in political affairs.
The defense minister admitted in the interview that the “exposing of the military in the political sphere” had harmed the country.
“There are many people who have harmed the state in the last 75 years – judiciary, politicians, army leadership. We must name them to settle history’s scores. There has to be a process, even if it is symbolic,” Asif said.
“If there is no remorse, there is no atonement. … If you seek atonement, there must be a process by which you can shed this baggage of history.”