Sentences Of 19 Perpetrators Of May 9 Tragedy Pardoned
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army, the sentences of 19 convicts of the May 9 incident have been commuted.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the convicts of the May 9 incidents have filed mercy and pardon petitions exercising their legal rights.
The military spokesperson said in the statement that a total of 67 convicts have filed mercy petitions.
‘48 petitions have been sent for review in the ‘Courts of Appeal’ for legal action. The petitions of 19 convicts have been accepted on purely humanitarian grounds in accordance with the law.’
The statement said that the other mercy petitions filed will be processed in accordance with the law within the stipulated period.
The names of the 19 convicts whose sentences have been commuted are as follows:
1. Muhammad Ayaz son of Sahibzada Khan
2. Samiullah son of Mirdad Khan
3. Laiq Ahmed son of Manzoor Ahmed
4. Amjad Ali son of Manzoor Ahmed
5. Yasir Nawaz son of Amir Nawaz Khan
6. Syed Alam son of Muazullah Khan
7. Zahid Khan son of Muhammad Nabi
8. Muhammad Suleman son of Syed Ghani Jan
9. Hamza Sharif son of Muhammad Azam
10. Muhammad Salman son of Zahid Nisar
11. Ashhar Butt son of Muhammad Arshad Butt
12. Muhammad Waqas son of Malik Muhammad Khalil
13. Sufyan Idris son of Idris Ahmed
14. Munib Ahmed son of Naveed Ahmed Butt
15. Muhammad Ahmed son of Muhammad Nazir
16. Muhammad Nawaz son of Abdul Samad
17. Muhammad Ali son of Muhammad Buta
18. Muhammad Bilawal son of Manzoor Hussain
19. Muhammad Ilyas son of Muhammad Fazal Haleem
According to the ISPR, these criminals are being released after the completion of the procedural process.
All other criminals also have the right to appeal and other legal rights as per the law and constitution.
The statement said that ‘the pardon of sentences is a testament to the strength of our fair legal process and justice.
This system ensures the delivery of justice by keeping in mind the principles of compassion and mercy.’
According to the army spokesperson, earlier in April 2024, an order was also issued to release 20 criminals on humanitarian grounds as per the law.
It may be recalled that law enforcement agencies had made several arrests on charges of attacks on military property during the protests that followed the arrest of PTI founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9, 2023.
On December 21 last year, 25 convicts were sentenced to various terms of rigorous imprisonment in the first phase, while the sentences of another 60 were announced on December 26.
The sentences were announced after the Supreme Court on December 13 gave conditional permission to pronounce the verdicts in the cases of another 85 accused from the cases pending in the military courts.
It should be noted that of the 19 people who have been pardoned, 15 are from the 60 who were sentenced on December 26, while four are from the 25 who were sentenced on December 21.
It is not clear at what point they were arrested, but most of them had already served a major part of their sentences.
