ISLAMABAD: Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa on Tuesday ratified life sentence for an army officer after he was found guilty of misusing authority.

“General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), confirmed the sentence of a serving Major who was tried by Field General Court Martial (FGCM),” a brief statement issued by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said without naming the person against whom the verdict had been given.

The FGCM, the statement said, found the now dismissed major “guilty of misusing his authority”.

“Pakistan Army, alive to its institutional accountability system has dismissed the officer from service and sent him to jail for life,” it added.

Earlier in May, a former army officer retired Brig Raja Rizwan and a civilian official of a military institution Dr Wasim Akram were sentenced to death and a 14-year jail sentence was given to retired Lt Gen Javed Iqbal for espionage.

Those officers were tried under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and Official Secrets Act.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2019