May 9 riots: Imran Khan's nephew among 60 more 'culprits' sentenced by military court

RAWALPINDI: Military court has sentenced 60 more culprits, includingPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's nephew Hassan Khan Niazi, for their involvement in the May 9 riots, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Thursday.

"The Field General Court Martial has promulgated the punishments to the following remaining 60 culprits after examining all evidence, ensuring the provision of all legal rights to the convicts, completion of due process and the appropriate legal proceedings," said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release.

Underscoring the conclusion of the military trial of all the accused, involved in the May 9 riots, under military custody, the ISPR noted that all the convicted individuals retained the right to appeal and other legal resources, as guaranteed by the Constitution and the law.

The development came days after the military courts, on December 21, sentenced 25 civilians to periods of two to 10 years of "rigorous imprisonment" in connection with attacks on military facilities in 2023, the ISPR had said.

The US, UK and EU had expressed concerns over the sentencing of the civilians by the military courts, maintaining that the convictions were against the international law.

Responding to the concerns raised by the foreign countries, the Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday said that the military courts' judgments were made under a law enacted by the parliament and in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

In a statement, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: "Pakistan is fully committed to fulfilling all its international human rights obligations."

Speaking to Geo News, Brigadier (retd) Waqar Hassan called for bringing “master planners” of the riots to the justice.

He further said the May 9 rioters were receiving instructions from abroad including to target the military installations.

"Some people were victims of political schemes. It’s crucial to apprehend those behind this," he added.

Syed Muhammad Ali, an expert on national security affairs, said the sentences were not announced in haste and the due process was followed.

He said the Field Marshal is aware of right to appeal “so certainly would have taken all due care”.

“No constitutional or international rights give right to attack state institutions.”

Referring to the western countries, the expert further questioned the conduct of those countries criticizing the military courts decision, asking what have they during war on terror.

“They themselves did not respect constitution of so many countries.”

Details of sentences awarded to convicts

• Hassan Khan Niazi s/o Hafizullah Niazi —10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.

• Mian Abbad Farooq s/o Amanat Ali — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.

• Raees Ahmed s/o Shafi Ullah — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Arzam Junaid s/o Junaid Razzaq — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Ali Raza s/o Ghulam Mustafa — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Raja Danish s/o Raja Abdul Waheed — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in GHQ attack incident.
• Syed Hassan Shah s/o Asif Hussain Shah — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in GHQ attack incident.
• Ali Hussain s/o Khalil ur Rehman — seven years rigorous imprisonment, involved in AIMH Rawalpindi attack incident.
• Zahid Khan s/o Muhammad Nabi — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in PRC Mardan incident.
• Sohrab Khan s/o Riaz Khan — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
• Brig (retd) Javed Akram s/o Chaudhary Muhammad Akarm — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Khuram Liaqat s/o Liaqat Ali Shahid — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Multan Cantt Checkpost incident.
• Zakir Hussain s/o Shah Faisal — seven years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Chakdara Fort incident.
• Ameen Shah s/o Mashter Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Fahim Sajid s/o Muhammad Khan — eight years rigorous imprisonment, involved in PAF Base Mianwali incident.
• Hamza Sharif s/o Muhammad Azam — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Muhammad Arslan s/o Muhammad Siraj — seven years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Muhammad Umair s/o Abdul Sattar — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Noman Shah s/o Mehmood Ahmad Shah — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Ikram Ullah s/o Khanzada Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Muhammad Ahmed s/o Muhammad Nazir — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Pirzada Mian Muhammad Ishaq Bhutta s/o Pirzada Mian Qamar ud Dind Bhutta — three years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Multan Cantt Checkpost incident.
• Muhammad Abdullah s/o Kanwar Ashraf Khan — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in GHQ attack.
• Amjad Ali s/o Manzoor Ahmed — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Muhammad Raheem s/o Naeem Khan — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Ehsan Ullah Khan s/o Najeeb Ullah Khan — 10 years rigorous imprisonment, involved in PAF Base Mianwali incident.
• Muneeb Ahmed s/o Naveed Ahmed Butt — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Muhammad Ali s/o Muhammad Boota — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Sami Ullah s/o Meer dad Khan, two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Mian Muhammad Akram Usman s/o Mian Muhammad Usman — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Mudassir Hafiz s/o Hafeez Ullah — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Sajjad Ahmed s/o Muhammad Iqbal — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Khizar Hayat s/o Umar Qiyaz Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Muhammad Nawaz s/o Abdul Samad — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Muhammad Bilal s/o Muhammad Afzal — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in PAF Base Mianwali incident.
• Muhammad Suleman s/o Said Ghani Jan — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
• Asad Ullah Durani s/o Badshah Zada — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
• Ikram Ullah s/o Shah Zaman — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Chakdara Fort incident.
• Muhammad Farrukh s/o Shams Tabriz — five years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Waqas Ali s/o Muhammad Ashraf — six years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Ameer Zohaib s/o Nazeer Ahmed Sheikh — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Farhad Khan s/o Shahid Hussain — seven years rigorous imprisonment, involved in AIMH Rawalpindi incident.
• Izzat Khan s/o Awal Khan — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
• Asher Butt s/o Muhammad Arshad Butt — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Saqlain Haider s/o Rafiullah Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Muhammad Salman s/o Zahid Nisar — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Hamid Ali s/o Syed Hadi Shah — three years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Multan Cantt Checkpost incident.
• Muhammad Waqas s/o Malik Muhammad Khalil — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Izzat Gul s/o Mirdat Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Haider Majeed s/o Muhammad Majeed — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Gp Capt Viqas Ahmed Mohsin (Retd) s/o Bashir Ahmed Mohsin — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Jinnah House incident.
• Muhammad Ilyas s/o Muhammad Fazal Haleem — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
• Muhammad Ayaz s/o Sahibzada Khan — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Main Gate FC Cantt Peshawar incident.
• Raees Ahmed s/o Khaista Rehman — four years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Chakdara Fort incident.
• Gohar Rehman s/o Gul Rehman — seven years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Chakdara Fort incident.
• Naik Muhammad s/o Nasrullah Jan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Fahad Imran s/o Muhammad Imran Shahid — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
• Sufayan Idrees s/o Idrees Ahmed — two years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Rahwali Gate Gujaranwala incident.
• Raheem Ullah s/o Bait Ullah — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.
• Khalid Nawaz s/o Hamid Khan — nine years rigorous imprisonment, involved in Bannu Cantt incident.

The May 9 riots refer to the violent protests triggered by the arrest of the PTI founder in a corruption case last year. The protests saw attacks on public military installations including General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Lahore corps commander house and several others in different parts of the country.

The military trials were initially halted after a Supreme Court ruling; however, the constitutional bench earlier this month directed that the cases pending due to the earlier order be finalised and judgements in the cases of those accused found involved in these violent incidents be announced.

The PTI has distanced itself from the violent protests and demanded the formation of judicial commission to probe the May 9 events.