RAWALPINDI:
Thirteen Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members, convicted by a field general court martial (FGCM), have formally appealed their sentences and requested access to key documents related to their cases. The applications were submitted by their legal representatives, Rana Abdul Qayyum Advocate and Malik Tahir Advocate. The convicts are currently held in Adiala Jail after their military court verdicts were announced last month.
The PTI workers, through their lawyers, have appealed to the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Department of the military for access to critical materials including summary evidence, military court proceedings, charge sheets, sentence warrants, and copies of the verdicts.
Additionally, the convicts have requested a meeting with their families and lawyers. The individuals involved in the appeals have received varying sentences: Umar Farooq, Dawood Khan, Ahsanullah Khan, Muhammad Anwar Khan, Babar Jamal Khan, and Raja Muhammad Ahsan each received 10 years; Syed Hassan Shah was sentenced to 9 years; Faheem Sajjad received 8 years; Farhad Khan and Ali Hassan were sentenced to 7 years each; and Raja Danish, Muhammad Abdullah, and Muhammad Bilal were each sentenced to 4 years.
The defence lawyers confirmed that the appeals and petitions have been submitted. They also warned that if the requested documents were not provided, they would take the matter to the high court.
In a separate case, a civilian and a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) corporal convicted by the FGCM on charges of embezzlement and breaching the Official Secrets Act have also challenged their sentences.
On December 31, 2024, Mazhar Hayat Bhatti, a PAF Hospital technician, was sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling CT Scan injections and transferred to Adiala Jail. Meanwhile, Corporal Sohail Rashid, convicted on December 26, 2024, under the Official Secrets Act, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and is currently held in Peshawar Jail.
Rana Abdul Qayyum Advocate, who is representing Bhatti, has argued that civilians should not be subject to military trials. He has also requested the necessary case documents.
