Pakistan: Lawyers handed over to army for trial

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Civilian authorities in Pakistan continue to handover suspects for their alleged involvement in attacks on military installations in May.

As the probe into the May 9 attacks proceeds, authorities on Monday handed over a lawyer associated with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to the military for trial over his alleged involvement in the attacks.

The government told the Lahore High Court on Monday that lawyer Haider Majeed has been handed over to the military for trial over his alleged involvement in the attacks.

Majeed, the latest suspect handed over to the army, was arrested along with Khan's nephew, Hassan Niazi, who too is a lawyer, last week from the northwestern garrison city of Abbottabad.

Niazi has already been handed over to the army for trial on similar charges.

Multiple military installations, including the residence of the then Corps Commander Lahore, were attacked and ransacked by angry mobs in protest against former Prime Minister and PTI chief Imran Khan's arrest, triggering a countrywide crackdown against the party workers.

Currently, over 100 suspects allegedly involved in the attacks are set to be tried in the military courts, a move derided by several human rights organizations and political parties.

The country's Supreme Court is already hearing multiple petitions filed against civilians' trial in the military courts.

The government has assured that the military trials will not begin without informing the apex court.

Khan himself is currently serving jail time after being convicted by an Islamabad court in a graft case earlier this month.

He is facing a slew of cases, all filed after his ouster through a no-trust vote in April 2022, which he dubs as "sham."