Monitoring Desk: Engineer Hassan Askari, the civilian son of a retired 2-star Major-General, has safely returned home. On October 2, 2020, he was arrested for penning critical letters to the military leadership during then-Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure. In October 2021, he was sentenced to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment by a military court. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan approved his case for trial in a military court.
A Pakistani military court awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment to the son of a retired major general for writing a critical letter to the current army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, against his policies and over-receiving extension in service.
A report published by the BBC Urdu claimed that the trial against Hasan Askari, a computer engineer, was conducted by a field general court martial (FGCM) in Gujranwala cantonment in central Punjab. As the accused was denied his own counsel, the court provided him with its lawyer.
فوجی افسروں کو خطوط لکھنے پر بغاوت کے الزام میں فوجی عدالت سے سزا پانے والے میجر جنرل (ریٹائرڈ) ظفر عسکری کے بیٹے حسن عسکری کو رہا کر دیا گیا۔ سال 2020 میں گرفتاری کے بعد حسن عسکری کو پانچ سال قید کی سزا سنائی گئی تھی#HassanAskari
— VOA Urdu (@voaurdu) June 14, 2023
Askari was convicted by the military court for writing a letter to the army chief, where he criticized former COAS Bajwa for his policies and receiving an extension in service, besides urging him to resign from his post. Askari also sent copies of the letter to many serving two-star and three-star generals. Subsequently, a military court tried Askari on the charge of treason, described in the FIR as an attempt to serve the agenda of anti-Pakistan elements.
The civil society of Pakistan had been demanding the release of Adress Khatak and Askari, both tried by the military courts. The release of Askari will benefit the military to gain the confidence of civil society which had been criticizing former COAS Bajwa and his team for exercising brutal administrative force to clamp the right of free thinking during his tenure.
