Civilian convicted of offences against state cannot claim fundamental rights, govt says in report to LHC

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that a civilian who commits an offence against the state and is convicted cannot claim the protection of fundamental rights. The response came as the government sought the dismissal of a petition filed by Barrister Hassaan Khan Niazi, nephew of PTI founder Imran Khan, challenging his handover to the army and subsequent trial in a case related to the May 9 riots. In a report submitted after almost a year on behalf of the provincial government through the home secretary and the inspector general of police, the deputy inspector general of police (legal) said every citizen’s first duty was loyalty to the state, citing a 2005 LHC judgment (PLD 2005 LAH 721).

The report described Niazi as a convicted prisoner, arguing that his release through a second round of litigation, other than by way of appeal, was not permissible. It said no judicial order was required for his handover because Niazi was neither in judicial custody nor on remand. The report further stated that he was an absconder, unlike the 16 co-accused whose transfer had been sought from an anti-terrorism court while they were in jail. The Sarwar Road station house officer neither handed over Niazi’s custody nor received a letter from the commanding officer, the report added. “That was done by the investigation in-charge of the Sarwar Road police station, who is not a party to the petition,” the report claimed. It stated that the Supreme Court’s May 7, 2025, ruling on the intra-court appeals upheld military trials while granting the accused the right to appeal, but not the right to file constitutional petitions. It said Niazi had already filed an appeal under Section 133-B of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952. “It is a well-established principle…