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| Punishments under Army Act: How did the computer engineer who wrote the letter to General Qamar Bajwa end up in high-security jail? |
Apparently, it was a scene like a normal court. In a room of 15 to 20 feet, the judge was on one side, and in front of him were the accused and the plaintiff along with their respective lawyers. But neither this case was common nor the court.
Among the three military officers sitting behind a table, one was of the rank of lieutenant general while two were of the rank of major general. These three were judges of this court.
Behind a table in front of him, Asad Jamal was there to defend his client. Near Asad Jamal, the plaintiff military officer was sitting with his lawyer.
Speaking to BBC Urdu, Asad Jamal said that soon witnesses started appearing against his client and he started taking notes so that they could be useful in cross-examination, but they were stopped.
The hearing was a field general court martial proceeding against a civilian.
At the end of this particular case, Asad Jamal's client Hasan Askari was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labor and sent to the high-security prison of Sahiwal.
Recently, after the May 9 incidents, there was an echo of action against civilians under the Army Act, and the name of Hassan Askari came up as an example of those who have been punished by a military court.
A letter written to former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Hasan Askari, copies of which were allegedly sent to other army generals besides judges, led to 'mutiny and rebellion among army officers against their command' in the Pakistani army. Accused of 'incitement'.
It was a time when all major political parties including the then ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf were on the same page on the issue of the tenure of General Qamar Javed Bajwa and differences between Imran Khan and the military establishment did not arise.
During Hasan Askari's imprisonment, the country's political situation turned upside down. Imran Khan's government ended and he blamed Army Chief General Bajwa.
General Bajwa retired after completing his second term and Imran Khan adopted an anti-establishment narrative after being out of power.
But what were the circumstances in which the son of an ex-army officer, who was living a quiet life in Australia, ended up in a high-security prison where only dangerous criminals are kept?
This was the question that the BBC spoke to Hasan Askari's parents in search of an answer.
Who is Hassan Askari?
Hasan Askari, the first child of Syed Zafar Mehdi Askari, who retired as a major general from Pakistan's army, received a degree in computer engineering from the State University of California in the United States after receiving his primary education in Pakistan.
However, according to his family, Hassan was more interested in economics, constitution, and human rights than computers.
After completing his studies abroad, he also took the CSS exam in Pakistan but could not pass it and moved to Australia along with his sister Zahra around the year 2000. However, after some time he returned to Pakistan.
Zahra says that upon returning to Pakistan, Hasan Askari also tried to open his own NGO. He wanted reforms in Pakistan. He loved his country very much. He used to say that I want to do something for Pakistan.
After spending some time in Pakistan, he again moved to Australia. Zahra says that Hasan used to care about Pakistan even in Australia. He always used to say what I can do for Pakistan.
Around the year 2015, Hasan's mother suffered from kidney disease and he returned to Pakistan once again to take care of her.
After returning to Pakistan, he started working in a private company in Islamabad, but he kept a close eye on the country's politics.
Beginning of writing letters to the army
According to Hassan's family, he started writing letters directly to the army in 2018, but Hassan's family was unaware of the subject of these letters.
"He never told us," Hassan's mother says. All this he has told us now.
"He used to write direct letters," says Zahra. He had no account on social media and never hid his letters anywhere.
Hasan's family claims that they were called to GHQ in response to one such letter.
A response was submitted by the Adjutant General of the Army to the Islamabad High Court regarding Hasan Askari's detention in the army, in which it was stated that Hasan Askari had written a large number of letters and pamphlets to Pakistani officers since 2017. The aim was to incite military officers to revolt against their leadership.'
The reply said that Hassan Askari was 'repeatedly warned to desist from such activities' but he 'continued to write letters to military officers.'
The door started rattling as if someone was breaking it.
It was six o'clock in the morning on October 2, 2020, when retired Major General Syed Zafar Mehdi Askari woke up from a loud noise.
It was Hasan's birthday a day ago. He was 51 years old.
Hasan's father said that it was six o'clock in the morning. We were sleeping. The door started to rattle as if someone was breaking it. We didn't understand anything, we went out with our eyes on each other, they had already taken Hasan out for such a long time.
According to Zahra, there were 15-20 vehicles outside, including "policemen and officials dressed in civilian clothes".
too He also abused the scholar and pushed him.
Zahra says the officials went to Hasan's room on the first floor where "the letters written by him were there." His computer, printer phone... They took whatever they found.
However, on the morning of October 2, Hasan's family did not know why he was being taken away.
Hasan's father says 'I was just trying to understand what happened when those people had already left.'
On the evening of the same day, an FIR and a copy of the magistrate's order arrived at his door.
This FIR was registered in Islamabad's Shalimar police station the day before, i.e. on October 1 at 4 pm. In it, giving the full address of Hasan Askari, the petitioner had complained that he had written letters to various 'military officers to mislead them from their duty and to incite general resistance and disobedience against the Army chain of command. tried to.'
According to the FIR, the petitioner took a stand that "Hasan Askari's action was an attempt to create a rebellion in the army, which seems to have the support of anti-state elements."
On this request, Hasan Askari was arrested from his house the next morning. On the same day, i.e. October 2, Islamabad Judicial Magistrate Mian Muhammad Azhar Nadeem signed orders to hand over Hasan Askari to the military authorities for action under the Pakistan Army Act.
Hasan Askari was handed over to the army under which law?
A case was registered against Hasan Askari under Section 131 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Under this section of the Pakistan Penal Code, if a person is found guilty of inciting a member of the armed forces to mutiny, he can be sentenced to death.
Apart from this, the offender can be punished with life imprisonment or ten years imprisonment and a fine under this law. A person who commits such an offense may be court-martialled.
Under Section 31D of the Army Act, only an army official or officer found involved in such a case can be court-martialled, while this law does not apply to civilians.
On the contrary, under Article 2 One Day of the Army Act, any civilian can be court-martialed by bringing the case in 31 days, but for this, a case against the civilian must first be registered in a police station and the permission of the magistrate is necessary. Is.
"We were called to a mess."
Hasan Askari's father Syed Zafar Mehdi Askari retired from the army in 1991 with the rank of Major General.
When he learned that his son was in army custody, he tried to contact the officers at the GHQ.
"I definitely had the advantage that I could meet people and people met me in a good way," he says.
He says that whatever officers he met, they tried to stay away from the case, they didn't even tell us that they knew. Our effort was to resolve the issue, we should not fight with anyone.
The result of these efforts was that two months later, the family met Hasan for the first time. Hasan's sister Zahra had also come to Pakistan by then.
Zahra said that we were told that you should come to a mess in Rawalpindi. Then we came to know that he is alive and really with the army.
According to him, Hasan had become weak for two months. "He said he didn't know where he was being held during that time but wherever he was, he was kept in solitary confinement."
"We realized that this matter will not be left like this"
According to Zahra, Hasan told her in this meeting that she was tested three times with a lie detector.
Major General Zafar Mehdi said that "the investigation was at the point that it can't do anything alone, so who is it with."
By this time, Hasan's family and Hasan himself probably hoped that he would be released soon after the investigators were sure that Hasan had no ties to any organization and that the letters He wrote only as an individual acted according to his thoughts.
But this hope was dashed when he came to know that Hassan's case has now been sent to the army's Jag branch, the legal department.
"Then we realized that they will not leave this matter like this," says Zahra.
"What is the charge sheet against Hasan, we have not found anything"
Asad Jamal defended Hasan Askari in the Field General Court Martial proceedings.
While talking to BBC, he said that 'Field General Court Martial is the highest court of the army in which officers of the rank of Lieutenant General and Major General are appointed as judges.'
He said that 'Field General Court Martial has the authority to give severe punishment. It can be a death sentence or life imprisonment.
Asad Jamal said that there were about two dozen hearings of the court martial of Hasan Hokkri.
During the proceedings, an officer from the army's legal branch, Jag, is present to guide the court while the accused is assigned an army representative who explains his rights to the accused, he said. What facilities are available and work to convey their demands to the authorities.
They state that they were not provided with the charge sheet against Hasan Hokri nor were they given anything after the conviction.
Asad Jamal says, "The military court in the Field General Court Martial has the authority to speed up the process by setting aside or suspending any law."
Asad Jamal speaking to BC, he said that when they arrived for court martial proceedings, they were taken to a room near the courtroom where Hasan Askari was brought.
A cloth was tied over his face and he was handcuffed. It is quite a painful experience for a normal person. I could see how much Hasan was in pain.
Asad Jamal says that he was unaware of Hasan's punishment.
I was not told. Didn't tell anyone. Just told Hasan that this punishment has been done.
Asad Jamal said that "Just like normal situations and civil courts, a civilian is not judged in a military court because civilians can make noise and say something."
Speaking to the BBC, Hasan's father said, "Hassan was shown writing on a plain paper that he was sentenced to five years of hard labor." It was a simple piece of paper without anyone's signature.
What was written in the letter?
The letter in which Hassan Askari was punished was not made public. Finally, what did he write in the letter that he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labor under military law?
When I asked Hasan's lawyer Iman Zainab Mazari whether she has a copy of this letter, she said that even a copy of this letter cannot be shown. Hasan's sister Zahra also gave the same answer.
However, according to Iman Zainab Mazari, in this letter containing about 100 pages, Hasan Askari warned about the possible political and economic implications of the army's intervention in politics and the extension of the army chief.
Major General Zafar Mehdi says that if a civilian criticizes the army chief, how will the chief who considers himself as God understand because the reality is that the entire government is subordinate to the chief. And someone should challenge this man.
It was cruel. We just had bad luck.
This whole matter is about taking personnel. If you are not personal, you see situations and facts, but when you are personal, you only see what you want to see. This is just the case.
"They made it personal."
Zahra says that they would have filed a defamation case against him. But to say that he incited military officers to mutiny was a completely false accusation.
Meeting in prison
Hasan's family did not yet know that Hasan had been punished.
"We asked our lawyer, 'Can we be a part of the final proceedings?'" says Zahra. When the lawyer contacted the military authorities, they were told that Hasan was no longer in Gujranwala. When he was asked where it is, he said that we do not know.
Zahra says that once again people started calling people in GHQ to find out where Hasan is.
"Then an officer gave us a number and said he was in Sahiwal Jail."
The family met Hasan in jail for the first time on September 2, 2021. "Hasan was seated across a screen," says Zahra. A plastic sheet was also installed due to Corona.
He was kept in solitary confinement. He was quite restless. He didn't let us talk and he said look they are doing wrong to me. He was like taking out his fury. He said you people have to do these steps. But he said don't worry about me. You, people, have to fight against it.
"He still says to this day, 'Don't worry about me.'
Failure to seek judicial relief
In May 2019, former Lt. Gen. Javed Iqbal of the Pakistan Army was sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labor after being found guilty of espionage.
However, the military court reduced his sentence by seven years on his first appeal, and on his second appeal, his sentence was reduced by another three years. When he was released in January 2023, prison officials said he was given a reprieve for good conduct.
However, despite the passage of almost two and a half years of Hasan Askari's imprisonment, his appeal in the military court has been heard for only two days so far. At this hearing in Multan, Hasan's lawyer Iman Zainab met her client for the first time.
It should be noted that according to military law, only the military court of appeal has the power to reduce the sentence against the sentence of the military court.
In the case of Hasan Askari, all efforts for relief from the civil courts have so far failed.
Hassan Askari's lawyers approached the Islamabad High Court and argued that the magistrate's handover of Hasan Askari to the military authorities was illegal. However, the single bench of the High Court rejected this plea.
An intra-court appeal was filed against the decision, which was reserved in February this year.
After Hasan Askari's sentence, the family appealed to the Rawalpindi Bench of Lahore High Court to transfer Hasan to Adiala Jail Rawalpindi keeping in mind the health of his elderly parents.
The court asked the family to approach IG Prisons Punjab, who rejected the request.
Hasan's family once again approached the court against this decision of the IG.
In June 2022, the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court issued orders to transfer Hasan Askari to Adiala Jail within two weeks.
Even this court order issued in June 2022 has not been implemented and Hasan's elderly parents are still waiting for when they will be able to meet their son.
Hasan recently wrote in a message to his family: 'Despite all the negative effects on state institutions, it seems that the effort to maintain the status quo is going on no matter how much it costs. Our unfair separation will continue. We will accept it.