An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced 75 leaders and activists from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party to prison terms ranging from 3 to 10 years. The sentences are related to their involvement in the attack on a senior PML-N leader’s house during the May 9 riots two years ago. An official associated with the court stated that the Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad handed down 10-year sentences to 59 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leaders and workers and 3-year sentences to 16 others. The court acquitted 34 individuals in connection with the attack on the residence of Rana Sanaullah, the President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Punjab. Of the 109 defendants, 75 have been convicted.
Key figures among those convicted include former opposition leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub; former opposition leader in the Senate, Shibli Faraz; former MP, Zartaj Gul Ahmed Chatha; Ashraf Khan Sohna; Sheikh Rashid Shafiq (nephew of former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid), and Kanwal Shozab. Previously, these leaders were also sentenced to 10 years each for attacking an ISI building in Faisalabad; these sentences will run concurrently. Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Zain Qureshi, the son of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, were acquitted in this case. On May 9, 2023, Imran Khan’s supporters engaged in widespread vandalism of military and government buildings, especially in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Imran Khan has been imprisoned for various charges for the past two years, while thousands of his party workers are also behind bars in connection with the May 9 cases. Courts in Punjab have begun sentencing PTI leaders and activists following the Supreme Court’s orders. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has strongly condemned the court’s decision, stating that it is based on fabricated cases and fake witnesses. Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide of Imran, said in a social media post on X that numerous atrocities have been committed against ordinary citizens, families, and the PTI leadership under the guise of May 9. He mentioned the case of Aliima Khan’s son, Shahrez, who was remanded. Bukhari stated that it was a serious failure of justice that the judge refused to even glance at the evidence proving that Shahrez was not in Lahore on May 9. This episode will remain indelibly etched in history, and those responsible will not escape justice.
