Islamabad: Relatives of a Pakistan army officer, currently facing court martial on charges of inciting a mutiny and having links with the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), have claimed that the military is influencing his trial.
Malik Bashir, the younger brother of Brig Ali Khan, told BBC Urdu that his sibling is not being allowed to meet a civilian lawyer, making the family believe that the court martial proceedings would not be transparent. Bashir said he and the lawyer, Asad Manzoor Butt, had gone to Sialkot garrison to meet Khan — who was arrested in May last year following the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in a US raid — after getting permission from authorities but the attorney was not allowed to see his client. Military authorities said only an army-appointed defence lawyer could meet Khan.
“This is a violation of rules and we are considering consulting civil courts about this behaviour,” Bashir said. Khan was held for his alleged links with the HuT. He was then serving at the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Four other officers were arrested at the same time.
The brigadier has been charged with inciting a mutiny within the army and plotting with other military officers and civilians to attack the General Headquarters. He allegedly tried to take support from the head of 111 Brigade, a unit that has played a key role in coups in Pakistan. Bashir alleged that some senior army officers were using delaying tactics in the court martial proceedings against his brother. According to rules, proceedings of the field general court martial should have started immediately after the framing of the charge-sheet, he said.
“The prosecution does not have any evidence against my brother and they are just dilly dallying and taking revenge,” he claimed.
Bashir said members of his family had been serving the military for 60 years and wanted to resolve the issue within the army. “But these injustices are forcing us to take the case to civil courts, though this is not our priority.”
He said army officers should refrain from influencing the court martial and give Khan a fair trial. If military authorities do not influence the court, Khan would be proved innocent, he contended. Khan and the four other officers were detained shortly after US forces killed bin Laden on May 2 last year. Khan’s lawyer has claimed his client was detained for demanding that the military should hold someone accountable for the failure to detect the US raid against the al-Qaeda chief.
Security agencies also arrested HuT spokesman Imran Yousafzai and four other activists of the banned group from Islamabad and Multan. After the raid against bin Laden, the HuT distributed pamphlets in cantonments that called on army officers to rise up against the top brass. (PTI)