KARACHI: Three retired military officers and a political activist have been convicted of espionage and handed different jail terms by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM), private newspapers reported on Sunday.
According to the report, the four – three former military officials and a civilian – were tried under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act 1923 on the charges of espionage prejudice to the national security.
The convicts include Lt Col (retd) Faiz Rasool, who was awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment; Lt Col (retd) Akmal, who was sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment; Major (retd) Saif Ullah Babar, who was handed 12-year rigorous imprisonment; and Idris Khattak, who was sentenced to 14-year rigorous imprisonment.
The report added Idris Khattak, who claims to be a rights and political activist, was tried by the FGCM in Jhelum, while the retired military officers stood trial in Rawalpindi. The main charge Khattak faced was that he was providing sensitive information to a foreign intelligence agency.
According to BBC, Owais Khattak, brother of Idris Khattak, said they received a phone call from Jhelum on Friday in which he was informed that his brother has been shifted to the district jail in Jhelum.
Khattak remained associated with Amnesty International and had investigated enforced disappearances in erstwhile tribal areas and Balochistan. He was travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar on November 13, 2019 when he was picked by an intelligence agency near Swabi interchange.
After nearly six months of public campaign by his family and filing of a habeas corpus petition at the Peshawar High Court, the defence ministry on June 16, 2020 admitted that he was in military’s custody and had been charged with treason under the Official Secrets Act.
Khattak’s brother later filed a petition with the Peshawar High Court seeking an end to his trial by the military court. The high court, however, on Jan 28, 2021 rejected the appeal.
The response
In a reaction to Khattak’s sentencing, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia Director Thyagi Ruwanpathirana said, “Idris Khattak’s family and lawyer are being kept in the dark by the Pakistani authorities about the exact status of his case and reported conviction, violating the right to fair trial and due process and making it impossible for them to plan any legal recourse.”
PAKISTAN: Family of enforced disappearance victim #IdrisKhattak must be given clarity. https://t.co/0M1vzkHodu
— Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) December 4, 2021
“If his conviction is confirmed, it will be the culmination of a shameful two-year process that has been unjust from start to finish,” the AI official said.
AI asked Pakistan’s authorities to provide details of the case to the family, give him access to lawyers, and produce him before a civilian court for deciding about lawfulness of his arrest and detention.
