Pakistan Army officer gets death sentence for spying

The Pakistan Army said on Thursday a military court had awarded death to an officer and a civilian official over the charges of spying for foreign agencies, a statement said.

According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan Army, the officers were tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secret Act by separate Field General Court Martial (FGCM) for separate cases.

Brigadier (retd) Raja Rizwan and Wasim Akram -- a civilian employee of a "sensitive organisation" of armed forces -- were awarded death sentences, while Lieutenant General Javed Iqbal (retd) was awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment, Geo News reported.

According to the ISPR statement, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa endorsed the punishment to these men on the "charges of espionage and leakage of sensitive information to foreign agencies prejudice to the national security".

The statement did not contain any further details of the offences committed by the three convicts. But Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor had confirmed the arrests of officers on February 22. IANS