In an unprecedented move, Pakistan Army dismissed its three senior officers, including a lieutenant general, for failing to prevent rioters on May 9 from ransacking military installations, the chief army spokesperson announced on Monday.
Besides sacking three officers, disciplinary action was taken against 15 other men in uniform, including three major generals and seven brigadiers.
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a news conference that the army had completed its investigation in the context of the events on May 9, after which 18 officers, including a lieutenant general and three major generals, had been charged.
The army spokesperson said two comprehensive institutional inquiries were conducted into the incidents of violence at various garrisons on May 9.
He added that the inquiries were presided over by officers of the rank of major general.
“Disciplinary action has been taken against the officials concerned who failed to maintain security and sanctity of the garrisons and Jinnah House,” the DG ISPR said.
According to the DG ISPR, disciplinary action had been taken against those officials who failed to maintain the security and sanctity of the cantonments, military installations, GHQ and Jinnah House.
According to the spokesperson, two inquiries were conducted within the army in this regard, after which it was decided in a detailed court of inquiry that three officers, including a lieutenant general, should be dismissed from their jobs.
Strict disciplinary action was also taken against 15 officers, including three major generals and seven brigadiers.
According to the spokesperson, Pakistan Army and the military leadership were aware of the events of May 9, and there was a process of self-accountability within the army which was carried out without any discrimination and “the higher the position, the greater the responsibility”.
Major General Chaudhry states, “In the army’s accountability process, there is no distinction between any position or social status.”
He also said that “102 miscreants are being tried in military courts, and this process is going on”, and the civil courts have transferred the cases to these courts under the law.
According to the spokesperson, “All the planners and facilitators connected with the events of May 9 will be punished according to the Constitution of Pakistan and the law, regardless of their affiliation with any organisation, political party or social status.”
The army spokesperson said that those who obstruct the process of justice to its logical conclusion would be dealt with sternly with the full support of the people of Pakistan.
The military’s spokesperson said that investigations revealed that the May 9 riots had been planned for several months.
“It is clear from the evidence regarding the May 9 tragedy that there were three-four masterminds and 10-12 planners behind it,” he said, hinting at further action against the people responsible for the May 9 incident.
He said that currently, the granddaughter of a retired four-star general, the son-in-law of a retired four-star general, the wife of a retired three-star general and the wife and son-in-law of a retired two-star general were undergoing the same accountability process based on irrefutable evidence.
