Earlier in January, the case was heard by the Islamabad High Court which directed holding the treason trial in camera….reports Asian Lite News
A Pakistan military court has convicted the son of a retired major general of the Pakistan Army to five years prison term for asking Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to resign.
The convict purportedly wrote a letter critical of extension given to Chief of the Army Staff General Bajwa and asked for his resignation, The News International reported citing BBC Urdu Service.
The report stated that Hassan Askari, son of Maj Gen (R) Zafar Mehdi Askari, was convicted under treason charges for criticising the Pak Army chief’s extension in a letter to him.
According to The News, Hassan was defended by an officer deputed by the Pakistan military court in a trial conducted in July this year. The father had complained that he was facing difficulties in meeting his son at the high-security prison in Sahiwal.
Earlier in January, the case was heard by the Islamabad High Court which directed holding the treason trial in camera.
During the trial, the question was put whether a civilian can be tried by the military court. The question was later referred by the court to be adjudicated by the military authorities.
Recently, Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership was involved in the spat over the appointment of the Director-General of the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday notified the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as the new chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He will replace the incumbent Lt Gen Faiz Hameed from next month.
“The prime minister has seen and approved the appointment of… Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum… as director general Inter-Services Intelligence, with effect from November 20, 2021, from the panel of officers at para 6 of the summary,” a notification issued by the Pak PMO dated October 26 said.
According to the notification, the incumbent ISI director general, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, will continue to hold charge as the ISI chief till November 19, 2021.
The appointment comes after nearly three weeks of an alleged standoff between the Pakistan military and the government over the appointment of Pakistan’s new spymaster. The army had announced on Oct 6 that the former ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, had been made the Peshawar corps commander, while Lt Gen Anjum was appointed in his place.
Gen Anjum commanded a brigade in Kurram Agency, led Frontier Corps (North) in Balochistan and remained commandant of Command and Staff College Quetta before becoming corps commander Karachi in December 2020. (ANI/IANS)
