Shillong, May 17: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan supporters who vandalized military property after his arrest will be tried under Army Act and Official Secret Act.
Last Tuesday’s detention of the former prime minister Imran Khan by the Rangers on the grounds of the Islamabad High Court set off violence in Pakistan that lasted until Friday and resulted in multiple fatalities as well as the destruction of numerous military and government facilities by the protesters.
In response to Khan’s arrest, Khan’s followers attacked the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi for the first time in the nation’s history and set ablaze the famed Corps Commander’s House in Lahore.
Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters may be charged under the harsh Army Act and the Official Secrets Act, which carries a death or life sentence as a penalty. This is a serious provision made by the Pakistan Army.
According to a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media arm of the Pakistan Army, a Special Corps Commanders Conference, presided over by Army chief General Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, also decided that restraint will no longer be used against perpetrators who attack military installations.