File photo of Chief of Army Staff Gen. Asim Munir
Chief of Army Staff Gen. Asim Munir has granted a reprieve to 20 convicts sentenced by military courts over their involvement in the May 9 riots, allowing for their release from the Pakistan Army’s custody ahead of Eidul Fitr.
On Monday, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan submitted a report to the Supreme Court informing it that 20 people sentenced for up to a year by military courts were released on April 6-7. It said the released convicts had already served a majority of their sentences and the Army chief remitted their remaining incarceration.
Of the released individuals, four are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 16 are from Punjab. From Punjab, eight are residents of Rawalpindi; three from Lahore; and five from Gujranwala, while from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, three are from Dir, and one from Mardan.
According to the report submitted in the apex court, the AGP said military courts had resumed trials in pursuance of the court’s directions and sentences of lesser punishments were handed down. It said the 20 released people were announced sentences of one year each, with 17 having served 10.5 months in prison already, and three 9.5 months.
Upon confirmation of their sentence, read the report, the remaining period of their punishment was remitted by the Army chief under Section 143(1)(i) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952. According to the list of people from Punjab whose sentences were remitted, Mohammad Idrees, Sheharyar Zulfiqar, Lal Shah, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Faisal were incarcerated for 10 months, 8 days; Aswad Rajput 10 months, 5 days; Nadir Khan 10 months, 6 days; and Yasir Aman 10 months, 9 days.
Similarly, Faisal Irshad and Hassan Shakir spent 10 months, 4 days in jail; Abdullah Aziz served 9 months, 26 days; and Mohammad Anas, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Rashid and Rashid Ali spent over 10 months.
From Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Umar Muhammad served 10 months, 10 days; Khalmat Khan 10 months, 7 days; Ijazul Haq 9 months, 23 days; and Shah Zeb 9 months, 29 days.
On March 28, a six-judge bench of the Supreme Court had suspended an Oct. 23 order nullifying the military trials of civilians involved in the May 9 riots and directed military courts to re-commence trials but not announce any verdict until the pendency of government-instituted Intra-Court Appeals.