Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, 1951

Formal Charges
against the accused on trial before the Special Tribunal

Names of the accused

1. Ex. Major-General Akbar Khan
2. Air Commodore M. K. Janjua
3. Major-General Nazir Ahmed
4. Brigadier Sadiq Khan
5. Ex. Brigadier M. A. Latif Khan
6. Lt. Col. Zia-ud-Din
7. Lt. Col. Niaz Muhammad Arbab
8. Captain Khizar Hay at
9. Major Hassan Khan
10. Major Ishaq Muhammad
11. Captain Zafrullah Poshni
12. Mrs. Nasim Akbar Khan
13. Faiz Ahmed Faiz
14. Syed Sajjad Zaheer
15. Muhammad Hussain Ata (Absconder)

Charge No. 1

That you accused along with the absconding accused Muhammad Hussain Ata and the two Approvers, namely, Lt. Col. Muhammad Mohy-ud-Din Siddiq Raja and Major Khwaja Muhammad Eusoph Sethi between July 1949, and March, 1951 at places specified in Charge No. 2 conspired to commit the offence punishable under section 121 of the Pakistan Penal Code (waging war against the King) or deprive the King of the sovereignty of Pakistan or any part thereof or conspired to overawe by means of criminal force or show of criminal force the Central and/or the Provincial Governments in that your object was to forcibly overthrow the Government established by Law in Pakistan and substitute in its place rule by a Military Council; to capture the Governor-General of Pakistan or the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Liaquat Ali Khan, and other important civil and military officers of the Central as well as the Provincial Governments of Pakistan and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 121-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 2

That you accused above named along with Muhammad Hussain Ata, the absconding accused, and the two Approvers, namely, Lt. Col. Muhammad Mohy-ud-Din Siddiq Raja and Major Khwaja Muhammad Eusoph Sethi between July 1949 and March 1951 at several places inter-alia Murree, Rawalpindi, Attock, Abbottabad, Peshawar, abetted the waging of war against the King in that you engaged your­selves in a conspiracy for the waging of such war against the King and that several acts, e.g., the preparation of Plan of Action by accused No. 1, the collection of men for the purpose of waging such war etc., took place in pursuance of that conspiracy and in order to the carrying out of the purposes of such conspiracy and thereby committed an offence punishable under sec­tion 121 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 3

(i) That you accused Nos. 1, and 3 to 11 being subject to the Indian Army Act VIII of 1911 conspired amongst yourselves and possibly with some other persons for the purpose of causing a mutiny or of joining in such mutiny in the Armed Forces and thus committed an offence punishable under section 27 of the Indian Army Act, 1911;

(ii) that you accused No. 2 being subject to the Indian Air Force Act XIV of 1932 in conspiracy with the accused mentioned in the charge instigated and incited persons for the causing of mutiny in the Armed Forces and thereby committed an offence punishable under sec­tion 35 of the Indian Air Force Act 1932; and

(iii) that you accused Nos. 12, 13 and 14 engaged with one or more of the accused persons specified in sections (i) and (ii) of this Charge in a conspiracy for the purpose of causing mutiny in the Armed Forces, in pursuance of which certain overt acts as specified in Charge 2 were performed, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 131 of the Pakistan Code.

Charge No. 4

(i) That you, accused Nos. 1 and 3 to 11 being subject to the Indian Army Act, 1911, knowing or having reason to believe in the existence of an intention to mutiny, or a conspiracy against the State, did not without delay give information thereof to your Commanding Officer or other superior officer, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 27 of the Indian Army Act, 1911;

(ii) that you accused No. 2, being subject to the Indian Air Force Act, 1932, knowing or having reason to believe in the existence of an intention or conspiracy to commit or cause a mutiny, failed to give information thereof to your superior officer, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 35 of the Indian Air Force Act, 1932;

and

(iii) that you accused Nos. 12, 13 and 14 being aware of a design to wage war against the King, and being bound by virtue of sec­tion 44, Criminal Procedure Code, 1898, to give information thereof, concealed the existence of such design, intending by such concealment to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that such concealment will facili­tate the waging of such war, and thereby committed an offence punish­able under section 123 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 5

That you accused above named along with the absconding accused and the two Approvers between July 1949, and March, 1951, at places mentioned in Charge No. 2 with the intention of inducing or com­pelling the Governor-General of Pakistan, the Governors of Provinces and/or the members of the Council of Ministers of the Governor-General of Pakistan to exercise or refrain from exercising in any manner, any of their lawful functions as such Governor-General, Governors or Ministers conspired to assault or to wrongfully restrain or overawe by means of criminal force or show of criminal force or conspired to attempt to so assault, wrongfully restrain or overawe the Governor-General, Gover­nors of Provinces or the said Ministers, and thereby committed an offence punishable under sec­tion 124/120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 6

That you accused Nos. 1,12 and 14 in pursuance of the object of conspiracy mentioned in Charges Nos. 1, 2, and 5 at the time and places mentioned above by words, either spoken, or written, brought or attempted to bring into hatred or contempt the Government of Paki­stan or excited or attempted to excite disaffection towards the Govern­ment established by Law in Pakistan, and thereby committed an offence punishable under sec­tion 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 7

That you accused Nos. 1 and 12 in pursuance of the con­spiracies mentioned in Charges Nos. 1, 2 and 3 made preparations to wage war by collecting men with the intention of waging such war against the King, and thereby committed an offence punishable under sec­tion 122 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Charge No. 8

That you the fourteen accused persons above named along with Muhammad Hussain Ata absconding accused and the two Approvers in pursuance of the objects of the conspiracy as mentioned in Charge No. 1 further agreed to murder such persons as may resist the execution of your Plan to overthrow the Government established by Law in Pakistan and substitute in its place military dictatorship: in particular you agreed that Khan Qurban Alt Khan, PSP, Inspector-General of Police, Punjab, and Mr G. R. Mellor, PSP, now Senior Superintendent of Police, Quetta, should be shot as soon as they were arrested. You further agreed that the Governor-General of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Gov­ernors of Provinces and Ministers of the Central and the Provincial Gov­ernments should be abducted and wrongfully confined and compelled to issue such proclamations or statements as may be required for the pur­pose of fulfilling the object of the conspiracy and thereby committed offences punishable under sections 302 read with Section 120-B, 365 read with Section 120-B, 342 read with Section 120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Source: The Times and Trial of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy 1951.
Oxford University Press (Karachi) 1998.

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