3 top Commanders get the boot for failure to contain the attacks on Pakistan military installations
Lahore Corps Commander Lt Gen Salman Fayyaz Ghani and two others were sacked for their inability to contain the attacks that took place following Former PM Imran Khan’s arrest by pro-Imran protesters, an incident alluded to as a ‘black chapter in history’, stated the Pakistan Army, sending out a strong message that any support to the former Prime Minister within the ranks would not be tolerated.
General Ghani was one of the top officials whose official residence was ransacked by the protestors. He was supposed to secure the residence, but with apparent miscalculation, he allowed the protestors inside the military installments, assuming the protests to remain largely non-violent, serving cause for further damage.
Strict disciplinary action has been taken against three major generals and seven brigadiers, the Army further said, in its initiative of ‘self-accountability’ and purging the ranks. Furthermore, over 100 civilian protestors are also under the radar and facing trials under the Army Act.
Comprehensive inquiries were conducted by major generals into the account of the violent events of May 9 to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice.Â
Pakistan military spokesperson’s remarks
Addressing questions in a press conference, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General, Major General Ahmed Sharif, emphasized that all ‘planners and facilitators’ of the attacks, regardless of ranks and affiliations to any political party or institution, would be incarcerated. He noted that close relatives of several high ranked officials were also amongst those facing trials.
He added that the primary objective of the protests was to draw immediate retaliation from the army by sending people to attack the military installations.
Image Source: Deccan Herald
Imran Khan, whose arrest had sparked these protests, has reprimanded the sacrilege of army monuments and attacks on military installations, but decries it as foul play by his opponents to drive divisions in his party and disqualify him from politics.
He has constantly condemned the activities as being carried out by the enemies of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). He also claimed that hundreds of his supporters including women and students, whom he deemed innocent, were arrested and put in jail ‘illegally’. Many senior officials have distanced themselves from the PTI and denounced association with Imran Khan.
Flare ups between the military and Imran Khan have been frequent since his ouster from power last year, with him accusing the military of orchestrating his removal. After his arrest, Mr. Khan’s supporters channelized violence across the country, protesting against the arrest.
The protestors ravaged an air base in the Punjab province and were also involved in breaking the gates of military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Such a defiant show of dissent against the military by the civilians was a setback to the firm hold on power by the military for years.
The military had condemned the day, May 9 as a ‘Black Day’, vowing to punish all those involved in the violent protests.
Image Source: India Today
Meanwhile, the military’s announcement that over 100 civilians would be facing trials in the military courts has drawn flak from human rights groups, criticizing this move as a crackdown on the citizens’ right to due process. ‘Those who committed violence should be prosecuted, but only in impartial and independent civilian courts’, observed Particia Gossman, associate Asia Director, Human Rights Watch.
These decisions come even as the Supreme Court is hearing a petition against it, sending an intimidating message to the judiciary, which has openly been in dissonance with the military in recent times, that the military wields supreme power, and the judiciary has curtailed capabilities.
