The Pakistani army has started court martial proceedings against five
officers over suspected ties to a banned extremist group that has
called for ousting the U.S.-backed government, security officials said
Saturday.
Brig. Ali Khan and four other officers were detained in
May, 2011 for suspected links to the Hizb-ut-Tahrir group. Khan was
working at the army's headquarters near the capital Islamabad at the
time of his arrest. Khan's family has denied the allegations against
him.
Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the military
trial started recently but did not provide any other details. It was
also not clear yet where the trial is taking place and what punishment
the officers face, if convicted.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir is banned in
Pakistan because of its extremist propaganda. The group also works to
re-establish the Islamic caliphate, the administrative structure that
once governed much of the Muslim world, and campaigns in Pakistan
against the country's alliance with the Unites States in the war on
terror.
The group insists it has rejected violence, although
observers say it promotes an intolerant mindset that can ultimately lead
some followers to embrace militancy.
Western officials have long
suspected some Pakistani military officials of having ties to Islamist
groups. Those fears spiked after American forces discovered and killed
Osama bin Laden in an army town not far from Islamabad — although the
U.S. has found no evidence that senior Pakistani officials knew of bin
Laden's whereabouts.
The Pakistan military has repeatedly denied supporting extremist groups.
Khan's
lawyer, retired Col. Inam Rahim, said after the arrest that his client
was detained for demanding that someone within the military be held
accountable for the covert U.S. Navy SEALs raid that killed bin Laden in
Abbottabad. AP
