HuT links: Brig Ali contests his conviction by a military court

Moves LHC against army’s authority to try servicemen after retirement.


Mudassir Raja December 19, 2012

RAWALPINDI:


A retired brigadier convicted by a military court for having ties with a banned outfit has challenged the ruling in a civilian court.


Brigadier (retd) Ali Khan moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench on Tuesday challenging his conviction by a  military court for having ties with Hizbut Tehrir (HuT). Khan’s plea focuses on whether the military has the authority to court martial a retired serviceman.

Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench has set the hearing of the case for the first week of January next.

Filed through Advocate Altaf Elahi Sheikh, the brigadier, who was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on August 3, 2012, said in his petition that defence ministry officials should be prosecuted for committing perjury in the court.

Khan’s

The petition maintained that in the written response the military secretary branch of GHQ noted that his April 11, 2011 retirement order was temporarily suspended on July 5, 2011 in consultation with the federal government.

Later, when the petitioner urged the court to direct military authorities to submit the notification under which his retirement was held in abeyance, they submitted a notification dated January 10, 2012.

The petitioner said that the belated notification presented in court refuted military authorities’ earlier claim that Brig Ali’s retirement was held in abeyance to try him under the Army Act.

In his petition, Brig Ali challenged his trial by military court, saying he could not have been tried under the Army Act as he was no longer in military service.

The brigadier and four majors — Jawad Baseer of Kohat, Iftikhar Ahmed of Abbottabad, Inayat Aziz of Lahore and Sohail Akbar of Islamabad — were tried and convicted by a military court for their links with the banned outfit and for attempting to recruit army officials to join their ranks.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2012.

COMMENTS (7)

afzal malik | 11 years ago | Reply

I believe one should invariably given the right of fair trial. Brig Khan has been deprived of this basic right. His trial was quite malafied. He is lyal to Pakistan Army and True Pakistani as can be any else. I am sure that he will be given the opportunity of fair trial.

wahab | 11 years ago | Reply

I wonder who is worse, this guy who tried to sabotage the army or shakeel afridi who helped in killing of Laden, surely the former. But he is jailed for 5 years and later for life

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