Pak: Imran Khan says stage set for his ‘court martial’

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has said the stage has been set for his “court martial” after the country’s all-powerful army vowed to try the “masterminds and planners” of May 9 violence in military courts.

His remarks came a day after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Khan of planning the countrywide violence that erupted after his arrest in a corruption case on May 9.

Talking to reporters after appearing before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday in connection with 10 different cases, including two ongoing petitions and eight new bail petitions, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said he knew he would be tried by a military court.

He termed a civilian’s trial in the military court as the “end of democracy” and the “end of justice” in Pakistan.

“The trial in the military court will be illegal,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. “They knew that over 150 cases registered against me are baseless and there is no chance of my conviction in these bogus cases, therefore, they have decided to conduct my trial in the military court,” Khan said.

Pakistan’s powerful army on Wednesday vowed to tighten the “noose of law” around “planners and masterminds” who mounted a “hate-ripened and politically-driven rebellion” against the state.