LAHORE: Hassan Khan Niazi, nephew of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, has submitted a petition to the Lahore High Court (LHC) contesting his ongoing military detention and court-martial proceedings related to the May 9 incidents.
Following the violent protests on May 9, 2023, Hassan was among numerous PTI officials who were detained and subsequently tried by a military court. In December of the previous year, he was sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.u
Through his lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, Hassan Niazi has challenged the legality of his detention, arguing that “the transfer of the petitioner’s custody directly to the military authorities without any judicial review is clearly beyond the court’s jurisdiction.”
The petition states that no formal application under Section 549(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) — which pertains to the transfer of custody to military authorities for court-martial — was filed before any civilian court, including the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore.
It further contends that Hassan has not been presented before a civilian court and has been held illegally in military custody “based solely on a letter from a military officer issued without any judicial authority or procedural safeguards.”
The petition emphasizes that neither Section 549(3) of the CrPC, nor Sections 94 (regarding jurisdiction overlap) and 59(4) (pertaining to civil offenses) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, or any other relevant law, authorizes the transfer of a suspect’s custody directly from police to military authorities for court-martial without an explicit order from a civilian court.
Hassan Niazi’s legal team has argued that his detention and trial are unconstitutional and demand that the military custody be reviewed and brought in line with legal procedures.
