Islamabad, Pakistan

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan's Election Commission granted the Pak Army authority to "magistrate" the polls allowing it to hold on-the-spot trials of anyone breaking election laws and sentence them during elections which will be held on July 25th.

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The Election Commission allowed the Army to imprison a person upto six months if found guilty of "corrupt practice".

Also Read: Pakistan election: The main players

The move comes even as military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor had said the Army would "support" the election commission with the election tasks.

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The powers given to the Army during elections was criticised by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan which called it "unprecedented" bordering on the "dangerous on micro-management by an institution that should not be involved so closely in what is strictly a civilian mandate."

However, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which is one of the main contenders in the election welcomed the move.

"The (Election Commission) is supposed to ensure free and fair elections and this step seems to be in that direction," Naeem Ul Haq, party spokesman said.

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 "It is a new first," Farhatullah Babar, a lawmaker from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), told Reuters. "Governance, society and politics have already been militarised dangerously." 

Pakistan is locked a three-way battle between Imran's PTI, Sharif's PML(N) and Bilawal Bhutto's PPP. PML(N) chief Sharif has been under arrest after he came back from London on corruption leading the PTI to fight a bitter battle on the ground as the country gets ready to witness a close fight at the hustings.

The move was disturbing because it gave the military a judicial function, said Haider Imtiaz, a lawyer told Reuters.