After finishing the trial proceedings held in absentia, an anti-terror court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict on Friday in Islamabad.
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According to the court’s verdict, former army officers Adil Raja and Syed Akbar Hussain, journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir, and Shaheen Sehbai, as well as commentator Haider Raza Mehdi and analyst Moeed Pirzada, are among the convicted.
Because they have recently moved abroad and avoided arrest, none of the accused were present in court.
Following his brief arrest in a corruption case in May 2023, some of Khan’s supporters staged attacks on military installations and government property in response to his brief arrest.
In response to Khan’s party’s and dissident voices, the Pakistani government and military have used anti-terror laws and military trials to prosecute hundreds of people accused of incitement and attacks on state institutions.
In 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists claimed that the investigations constituted retaliation against critical reporting.
Authorities must stop these investigations and put an end to media censorship and intimidation, according to CPJ Asia program coordinator Beh Lih Yi.
Sabir Shakir, a journalist who previously hosted a well-known television program on ARY TV before leaving Pakistan, confirmed his conviction with The Associated Press on Friday.
When police accused him of encouraging mob violence, he claimed he wasn’t in the country.
According to Shakir, “the decision that has been made against me and others is nothing more than political victimization.”
Those found guilty on Friday have the right to file appeals within seven days of the court’s ruling.
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Source: Aljazeera
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