US, UK criticize Pakistani military court's convictions of civilian supporters of Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD (AP) The United States and the United Kingdom have expressed concern over the sentences imposed by Pakistani military courts on 25 civilian supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for their alleged involvement in last year's riots .

The convictions had also previously been criticized by the European Union and domestic human rights activists.

The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been convicted by a military court for their involvement in the May 9, 2023 protests. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process. regularly, the State Department said in a statement Monday. .

He called on Pakistan to respect the right to a fair trial and due process.

The Foreign Office in London said that while the UK respects Pakistan's sovereignty over its own legal processes, trying civilians in military courts lacks transparency, independent oversight and undermines the right to a fair trial.

He added: “We call on the government of Pakistan to respect its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The statements referred to the violence that erupted after Khan's arrest in Islamabad in May 2023.

The former prime minister was ousted by a vote of no confidence in Parliament in 2022, and he was convicted of corruption and sentenced in August 2023. Since then, he has been behind bars. Pakistan's popular opposition party Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, is in talks with the government to secure his release.

Responding to growing international criticism, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the country was “fully committed to fulfilling all its international human rights obligations.”

In a statement, he said Pakistan's legal system was in line with international human rights law and the verdicts of the military courts were delivered under a law enacted by Parliament and in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He said Pakistan would continue to engage with international partners, including the European Union, to uphold international human rights law, without any discrimination or double standards.

The 25 supporters were sentenced Monday to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years, in what the military said was a stark reminder to citizens never to take the law into their own hands.

The PTI rejected convictions of civilians, demanding that they be tried in normal courts if they were involved in the riots.

Without addressing international criticism of the convictions, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday accused the PTI of hiring foreign pressure groups to carry out campaigns against Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has accused Khan of instigating the violence, a charge he denies.

Earlier this month, Khan and dozens of others were charged in a civil court with inciting hatred that day, when protesters attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, taking stormed an air base in Mianwali, in the eastern province of Punjab, and set fire to a state building. – runs Radio Pakistan in the northwest.

The story continues

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