Military court convicts civilians involved in 2023 unrest, with rights groups slamming ruling as ‘intimidation tactic’.

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 … to never 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.

Amnesty International called the ruling “an intimidation tactic, designed to crack down on dissent”.

Politically motivated

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.

Meanwhile, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was hit by a sweeping crackdown, with thousands of grassroots supporters and senior officials arrested.

Khan was barred from running in elections in February of this year, which were marred by rigging allegations.

PTI defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party but was shut out of power by a coalition of parties considered more amenable to military influence.

Last month, protests and unrest gripped the capital Islamabad again as thousands of PTI supporters attempted to occupy a public square on the doorstep of parliament.

Saturday’s ruling came days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military.