Three retired military officers and a civilian have been convicted of espionage and handed different jail terms by the Field General Court Martial, according to sources privy to the development.
The four – three former military officials and a civilian – were tried under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act 1923 by separate Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on the charges of espionage prejudice to the national security, the sources said.
The convicts include Lt Col (retd) Faiz Rasool, who was awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment; Lt Col (retd) Akmal, who was sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment; Major (retd) Saif Ullah Babar, who was handed 12-year rigorous imprisonment; and Idris Khattak, who was sentenced to 14-year rigorous imprisonment
The sources said Idris Khattak, who claims to be a social activist, was tried by the FGCM in Jhelum, while the retired military officers stood trial in Rawalpindi. The main charge Khattak faced was that he provided ground intelligence for US drone strikes in Pakistan.
According to BBC, Owais Khattak, brother of Idris Khattak, said they received a phone call from Jhelum on Friday in which he was informed that his brother has been shifted to the district jail in Jhelum
Asked if a civilian could stand trial in a military court, the sources said a civilian could be tried in the FGCM under “specific circumstances”.
Earlier in February, a two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court – headed by Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed – had dismissed a plea against Khattak’s trial in a military court. The petition was filed by Khattak’s brother.
The Pakistan Army has dismissed three officers from service over misuse of authority and involvement in illegal activities, said a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday ( October 10,2019).
"Charges included misuse of authority and involvement in illegal activities unbecoming of an officer."
The three major rank officers were awarded punishment on account of "breach of discipline and misconduct".
The brief statement by the ISPR further said the officers were found guilty of charges levelled against them and two have been awarded "rigorous imprisonment for two years each".
In August, the Army had also dismissed a major rank officer from service for misusing authority and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The sentence, passed after the officer was tried by a field general court-martial, was confirmed by Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Earlier, a three-star retired general had been sentenced to 14 years in prison and a retired brigadier awarded the death sentence by field general court-martial on charges of espionage and leaking “sensitive information” to foreign agencies.
According to ISPR, General Bajwa endorsed the punishment to the officers on the charges of “espionage and leaking of sensitive information to foreign agencies prejudice to national security”.
The officers — identified by the military’s media wing as Lieutenant General (retd) Javed Iqbal, Brigadier (retd) Raja Rizwan and Doctor Wasim Akram — were tried under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act by separate field general court martial in separate cases.
Former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif had also dismissed 11 military officers over corruption charges which included one lieutenant general, one major general, five brigadiers, three colonels and one major.Last month, Amnesty International urged Pakistan to stop forcibly disappearing suspected militants — and other suspects — for years without trial, calling the practice “abhorrent.” In a chilling report entitled “Living Ghosts,” the rights group describes the difficulties faced by the families of the disappeared in obtaining information about their detained relatives.
The activist’s daughter, Talia Khattak, told the AP the family has not been notified of Khattak’s trial or sentencing. She said she learned about it through social media, and did not receive “any such information from my father’s lawyer.”
Khattak’s sentencing has drawn condemnation by human rights activists on social media, with several suggesting he was arrested because he spoke up against illegal detentions and forced disappearances.
Although Pakistani law prohibits detentions without court approval, officials have privately conceded that intelligence agencies are holding an unspecified number of suspects at detention facilities.
According to ISPR of May 31,2019, the military’s media wing, the officers were tried under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and the Official Secret Act by separate Field General Court Marshal (FGCM) for the separate cases.
Those who were handed down punishment include Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Iqbal, who was awarded 14 years rigorous imprisonment; Brig (retd) Raja Rizwan who was awarded the death sentence; and an employee of a sensitive organisation — Doctor Wasim Akram — who was also given the death sentence.