Global Courant
Pakistan’s military on Monday fired three senior army commanders and disciplined 15 top officers for their behavior during recent protests in support of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in what analysts called the most forceful action the army has taken against its own members in decades.
The sentences, announced by a military spokesman, sent a clear signal that support for Mr. Khan would not be tolerated within the ranks by the powerful leaders of the army. They also underlined that the military would use an increasingly stronger hand to bolster support for Mr. Khan, the cricketer turned politician, who was ousted from power last year but has made a comeback in the months since.
Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the military spokesman, announced the disciplinary action at a press conference in Rawalpindi, saying the three army commanders and 15 other senior officers had failed to secure military installations from attack by protesters. The demonstrations broke out last month after Mr. Khan was briefly arrested on corruption charges, allegations which he denied.
Tensions between Mr Khan and the Pakistani military have flared up repeatedly since he was removed from power last year by a vote of no confidence in parliament. Mr Khan has accused the military of orchestrating his removal, a claim officials deny.
Authorities have been investigating Mr Khan for months and decided to arrest him last month. Violent demonstrations erupted across the country following the arrest as his supporters took out their anger at the military, seen by many as the invisible hand pulling the strings.
The supporters of Mr. Khan not only demonstrated in the streets, but also broke through the gates of military installations and looted the official residence of the Supreme Military Commander in Lahore, the second largest city in the country and the home of Mr. Khan. Protesters also broke through the gates of the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and gathered outside an air base in Punjab province.
The protests pushed Pakistan into uncharted political territory: the military has dominated the country directly and indirectly through civilian governments for decades, and not so long ago widespread defiance of the military was unthinkable.
The army has declared the day of the protests as May 9. a “black day” and vowed to punish those involved. Since then, at least 5,000 of Mr Khan’s supporters have been arrested, and dozens of his top party leaders have defected after facing mounting pressure from the military establishment to do so, his supporters say.
At least 102 supporters of Mr. Khan will be tried in military courts, a military spokesman said. widespread criticism from human rights organizationswho say this denies their right to a fair trial.
“The Pakistani government has a responsibility to prosecute those who perpetrate violence, but only in independent and impartial civilian courts,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Pakistan’s military courts, which use secret procedures that deny the right to due process, should not be used to prosecute civilians, even for crimes against the military.”
Analysts have described the move as an intimidation tactic. The decision, taken as the Supreme Court hears a petition against it, is also widely seen as a message to Pakistan’s judiciary – which has openly contradicted the military in recent months – that the power of the courts is limited and that the military reigns supreme.
General Chaudhry said on Monday that the sentences for senior commanders were set after an internal investigation. Among the officers dismissed was Lahore military commander Lt. Gen. Salman Fayaz Ghani, whose official residence was looted during the protests, security officials said.
General Ghani, one of the army’s top leaders, had been ordered to secure the residence after protests broke out, security officials said, but instead appeared to allow thousands of protesters into the military installation after ordering guards to surrender. to retreat.
The commander had miscalculated that the protesters would remain peaceful, security officials said. The demonstrators then burned down his official residence and he had to flee with his family.
Military leaders have also accused several retired army officers of helping to orchestrate the protests, which they say were aimed at pressuring powerful army chief General Syed Asim Munir to enter into dialogue with Mr Khan over early elections .
Although Mr. Khan fell out with military leaders in the run-up to his ousting, he has retained broad support in the ranks. For many, he was seen as one of the few political leaders untainted by the corruption that has plagued successive civilian governments, and thousands of women and children from current and retired military families were regulars at Mr Khan’s political rallies, who were seen as a political outsider.
The military spokesman, General Chaudhry, said a granddaughter of a retired four-star general, the son-in-law of a retired four-star general, the wife of a retired three-star general and the wife and son-in-law of a retired two-star general were among those on trial for their roles in the protests. from May 9.
