Neither people nor history would accept the military court sentences against civilians more than one year after the May 9 riots, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Saturday.
“When you punish convicts after one and a half year years, it will raise questions,” he said while appearing on Aaj News programme Rubaroo. “It was an unusual incident and should never have happened in Pakistan.”
Earlier in the day, the Inter-Services Public Relations announced that the military courts have sentenced at least 25 suspects of May 9 events to jail.
The military courts took the decision after the SC’s constitutional bench last week conditionally allowed them to pronounce reserved verdicts of 85 civilians who were still in custody for their alleged involvement in last year’s May 9 riots.
The military’s media wing added that the promulgation of the sentences of the remaining accused is also being done and would be announced “shortly as and when the due process is complete.”
“The reality will come to light when they will move to the Supreme Court, but I don’t think these decisions will be made public,” Abbasi said.
He agreed with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s comment that delay in justice benefitted the planners of May 9. “It is important to know whether law of evidence was implemented or not. If not, these decisions will further weaken.”
Abbasi, the Awaam Pakistan Party leader, stated that a “summary trial” is conducted in the military court and reiterated that speedy justice should have been served.
When asked about jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s fast trial, he said that it depends on the court as civilian courts would take time.
He was of the view that the jail terms for convicts after more than one year would imply that it was a “political persecution matter”.
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In response to a question, he said that the National Assembly was a forum for holding talks on public matters and claimed that the government and opposition “lacked intention.”
According to Abbasi, dialogue is not held with conditions and neither side was “serious” about people’s issues. He slammed the federal and provincial governments for not focusing on Kurram where clashes killed at least 130 people and led to a shortage of food and medicines.
He was of the view that the PTI should not have made the civil disobedience movement announcement as overseas Pakistanis would not follow the decision to stop sending remittances to the country.
