Pakistan has jailed 25 civilians over attacks on military facilities that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2023.
The military’s public relations wing confirmed the ruling on Saturday, stating that a military court had handed down sentences of between two and 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment”, with 14 facing a decade behind bars.
The statement did not specify the charges, but referred to acts committed by Khan’s supporters, who stormed military premises and torched a general’s house during the unrest in May 2023, as “political terrorism”.
It said the ruling was “a stark reminder … never to take law in [one’s] own hands”.
The military said others charged over the violence, which killed at least eight people, were being tried in anti-terrorism courts and justice would only be fully served when the “mastermind and planners” were punished.
Former cricket star Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed by parliament in a no-confidence vote, blaming the then-head of the powerful military establishment for his downfall.
The 72-year-old was imprisoned for days in May 2023, then again three months later, and has remained in jail since, facing a parade of court cases he claims are politically motivated.
