A Pakistani military court has sentenced 60 civilians to jail time ranging from two to 10 years in connection with attacks on military facilities after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2023.
Those sentenced on Thursday include a relative of Khan as well as two retired military officers.
Last week, 25 others were sentenced on the same charges.
“The Nation, Government, and the Armed Forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained,” the military’s ISPR media wing said on Thursday, adding that the court-martials had now concluded.
The convictions came less than a week after a military court handed down sentences to 25 members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party on the same charges.
The allegations against Khan supporters stem from nationwide protests in May 2023, during which demonstrators stormed and ransacked several military installations in an unprecedented show of public outrage against the powerful Pakistani institution.
The PTI has rejected the “secretive” military trials. Khan and his aides deny any wrongdoing, saying intelligence agency operatives had infiltrated the ranks of “peaceful” PTI protesters and carried out the vandalism to justify a subsequent state crackdown on the opposition party, charges government officials rejected.
Last week’s sentencing of the initial group of 25 PTI members to “vigorous imprisonment” of up to 10 years drew an international backlash.
The United States urged Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process in line with the country’s constitution.
