Islamabad, Nov 11 (IANS) A week after imposing emergency, President Pervez Musharraf has promulgated an ordinance to amend the Pakistan Army Act 1952 allowing military courts to try civilians for serious offences like terrorism.
The ordinance, named the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, gives sweeping powers to the security and intelligence agencies for interrogation of civilians involved in terrorism and other serious offences, media reports said Sunday.
Many former military officers and civilians have been arrested since the Nov 3 emergency, including former spy chief General Hameed Gul.
A report in The News Sunday said that Gul, who was arrested for protesting against the emergency, has been asked by the administration to submit a “mercy appeal” to President Musharraf for his release. But the paper said the general preferred to remain in jail rather than file a mercy appeal.
According to Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayum, after the amendments to the Army Act, the army can interrogate civilians suspected of targeting military personnel and installations. Their cases could be sent to the military courts. However, the police cannot arrest such people and only the army would deal with them, he said.
To a question, Qayum responded that the sentences mentioned in the Army Act for serious offences had not been altered.
The ordinance also allows the military courts to take up cases involving persons like militants from the tribal areas, said an official here requesting anonymity.
He said it was a second attempt, a successful one, to bring civilians under the purview of the Army Act since 1977. “The Lahore High Court had earlier struck down such an amendment made in the Army Act by the then government of late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” he added.
The amendments would also redefine the role of security agencies by giving them more powers of arbitrary detentions, the official said.
The new offences to be tried under the Army Act include terrorism, abduction, and use of arms. The amended act would apply to any such offences committed by tribal militants and other people, he said.
The amendments also empower intelligence agencies to detain civilians without framing any charges and keep them in custody for an indefinite period.