- Mercy petitions of remaining convicts to be decided in due course of time, following the legal process
- Barrister Gohar Ali Khan terms decision by the military as ‘not a development’, asserting no change in stance on military trials
- PTI claims military courts pardoned those whose sentences were nearing completion
RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: The military courts of appeal have accepted mercy/remission pleas of 19 May 9 convicts against their jail sentences on the humanitarian grounds and in accordance with the law, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced in a statement on Thursday.
According to an ISPR statement said that 67 convicts had filed mercy/remission petitions and 19 of them had been accepted and they will be released soon.
The development comes less than a month after military courts sentenced a total of 85 civilians involved in the May 9 riots of 2023. On December 21 last year, military courts sentenced 25 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years over the May 9 events. A week later, another 60 civilians were handed jail terms ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in the nationwide riots.
“Sequel to the promulgation of punishments to 9th May Tragedy convicts, they have exercised their right to appeal and have asked for mercy/remission in their punishments,” the statement said.
“A total of 67 convicts have given their mercy petitions,” it said, adding that 48 petitions have been processed to Courts of Appeal, while petitions of 19 convicts have been accepted “purely on humanitarian grounds, under the law.”
“Mercy petitions of remaining will be decided in due course of time, following the legal process,” it said.
Those whose mercy pleas have been accepted, include: Muhammad Ayaz s/o Sahibzada Khan — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Main Gate FC Cantt Peshawar incident.
Sami Ullah s/o Meer dad Khan — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Bannu Cantt incident
Laeeq Ahmed s/o Manzoor Ahmed — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
Amjad Ali s/o Manzoor Ahmed — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident
Yasir Nawaz s/o Ameer Nawaz Khan — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident.
Said Alam s/o Maaz Ullah Khan — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident.
Zahid Khan s/o Muhammad Nabi — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the PRC Mardan incident.
Muhammad Suleman s/o Said Ghani Jan — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident
Hamza Sharif s/o Muhammad Azam — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident
Muhammad Salman s/o Zahid Nisar — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident
Asher Butt s/o Muhammad Arshad Butt — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Muhammad Waqas s/o Malik Muhammad Khalil — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Sufayan Idrees s/o Idrees Ahmed — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Muneeb Ahmed s/o Naveed Ahmed Butt — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Muhammad Ahmed s/o Muhammad Nazir — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Muhammad Nawaz s/o Abdul Samad — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident
Muhammad Ali s/o Muhammad Boota — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident
Muhammad Bilawal s/o Manzoor Hussain — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the Jinnah House incident.
Muhammad Ilyas s/o Muhammad Fazal Haleem — was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for involvement in the HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident
“They all shall be released after [the] completion of procedural formalities.
“All those convicted retain the right of appeal and other legal remedies as per the law and the constitution.”
The ISPR added: “The remission of punishments is a testament to the strength of due process and fairness, which ensures that justice is served while also taking into account the principles of compassion and mercy.”
In April 2024, 20 people convicted over the May 9 riots —who had been jailed and had served a major part of their sentences — were also pardoned on humanitarian grounds after their sentences were remitted by the army chief.
Barrister Gohar says ‘not a development’
Reacting to the development, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan termed the decision by the military as “not a development”.
“PTI’s position has not changed,” he said while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“We have a clear stance that no civilian should be tried in military court and it remains unconstitutional and now this matter will be decided by the Supreme Court,” he declared.
While calling the remission a “good thing”, Gohar said, “There should not be a conviction stigma by the military courts. This should be a civilian court.”
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the development was a good step while talking to reporters after the second round of meetings between the PTI and the government in Islamabad on Thursday.
He added that most of the time for the sentences had already elapsed and if a month or two was left, it was a good step to release the convicts.
“The state is like a mother that grooms them rather than shooting at them to martyr them.”
‘Military courts pardoned those whose sentences were nearing completion’
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that amnesty was granted by military courts to those who had already served one year in prison, and their sentences were nearing completion.
Talking during the programme of a private TV channel here, he further claimed that two days after the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan, he was offered the opportunity to leave the country.
Akram revealed that the PTI founder declined the offer to leave the country, insisting that he would not leave unless the release of PTI prisoners was ensured.
“Imran Khan said that he received offers to leave, but he refused. He insisted that our prisoners should be freed before he considers leaving,” he said.
Discussing the second round of negotiations between the government and PTI, Akram stated that this was the first time all parties were present. “We have presented our demands clearly. Our two main demands are non-negotiable,” he said, adding that a detailed meeting with Khan was crucial to move forward.
“We have asked for justice. We aren’t demanding anything unreasonable. Our prisoners should be freed, and we need to know the whereabouts of our missing persons,” he continued.
Akram further emphasised that the demand for the formation of a judicial commission is entirely reasonable, questioning why such a commission could not be established.
He also clarified that the party’s demands were in line with the constitution and law. “We are not asking for anything outside of the law,” he added.
Regarding the 190-million-pound case, Akram said that if there were any valid charges, they would have been settled in the first hearing in a higher court. “We are fundamentally against military courts, and PTI’s stance on this matter is clear,” he asserted.
SCBA welcomes ‘mercy for May 9 convicts’
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Thursday termed the acceptance of mercy appeals filed by 19 convicts in the May 9 violence cases a ‘good omen’, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The SCBA, in its declaration, said that a total of 67 convicts had filed the mercy pleas. “It is hoped that the pleas of the remaining convicts will also be accepted,” the Bar said, adding, “Those who appealed for mercy admitted their mistakes. These people were used for political purposes.”
These days, the SCBA went on to say, PTI, government talks were also in progress. “And negotiations are the only way through which political temperature could be lowered and the country’s situation could be improved.”
The Bar appealed to all political parties to play their roles in making talks successful for the sake of the country.
May 9, riots
Protests erupted across the country following arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan from Islamabad High Court premises by the paramilitary Rangers. These protests turned violent and various incidents of vandalism and arson took place at approximately 40 public buildings and military installations, that included the Lahore Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House) and Askari Tower in Lahore, General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Office in Faisalabad, FC Fort in Chakdara, Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar, Toll Plaza at Swat Motorway and the PAF Base Mianwali.
At least 10 people lost their lives and hundreds sustained injuries during the two days of rioting and vandalism, the military describes as coordinated attack by the PTI leadership.
According to some government reports, a total of 62 violent incidents were documented, inflicting a loss of Rs2.5 billion on the country, of which, according to the state, Rs1.98bn in losses were suffered by the army.
On Oct 13, 2023, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court had unanimously declared the military trials of 103 civilians null and void, ruling that these accused should be tried in criminal courts of competent jurisdiction established under the ordinary or special law of the land.
However, on December 13, 2023, in a 5-1 majority verdict, the SC conditionally suspended its own Oct 23 ruling — albeit by a different bench — pending a final judgement as it heard a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs).
In March 2024, a six-member SC bench had also conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts in the cases. It had also modified its Dec 13 injunction, ordering that military courts could commence trials but they would not convict or acquit any suspect until the pendency of government-instituted ICAs.
