By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday sentenced more than a dozen members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to up to 10 years in prison for their role in violent anti-government riots in May 2023, marking the third such verdict against the party in recent weeks.
The unrest erupted on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest in Islamabad on corruption charges, prompting his supporters to attack government buildings and military installations across the country. Thousands of PTI members and supporters were detained in a subsequent crackdown, with hundreds charged under anti-terrorism laws, some cases referred to military courts.
The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore, hearing two cases related to the riots at Kot Lakhpat prison, sentenced senior PTI figures Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mahmood-ur-Rashid, and Umar Sarfaraz Cheema, among 11 individuals, to 10 years in prison. Two other PTI members, Aliya Hamza Malik and Sanam Javed, received five-year sentences.
The court, however acquitted PT’s senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in both the May 9 cases.
“This verdict stands as a flagrant travesty of justice, reducing the very notion of fairness to a hollow farce,” PTI spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari said in a statement following the ruling. “It is unfortunate that transparency [was] set aside in these cases and the accused were not even given the opportunity to defend themselves.”
The court’s decision follows two similar rulings against PTI members. On July 22, an ATC in Sargodha sentenced Ahmed Chattha, Bilal Ejaz, and Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar to 10 years. On July 31, a Faisalabad ATC handed 10-year sentences to 108 PTI members, including Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza, and Zartaj Gul Wazir.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had welcomed the Faisalabad ruling, accusing PTI supporters of “setting fire to government buildings, damaging military property, and injuring law enforcement personnel” during the May 2023 unrest. “This is a story of sacrifice to save the world from terrorism,” Tarar said at the time. “Pakistan is a wall between terrorists and the world… if this wall becomes weak, the fire will not stop at our borders.”
PTI has denied inciting violence and rejected the terrorism charges. Khan, who was in custody during the protests, has maintained he did not direct the unrest. “The party shall resolutely petition the higher courts to redress this grave political injustice and vindicate the rule of law,” Bukhari said after Monday’s verdict.
The ATC had reserved its judgment on Saturday in two cases tied to the May 9 riots, one involving an attack on Shadman police station and another concerning the burning of police vehicles near Jinnah House. Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdicts on Monday after concluding hearings inside Kot Lakhpat jail. In the Shadman case, 25 of 41 accused were indicted, with 45 prosecution witnesses’ statements recorded, while 15 were declared proclaimed offenders. In the police vehicles case, 17 were indicted, seven declared proclaimed offenders, and 65 witnesses’ statements were recorded.
Aliya Hamza, PTI’s senior leader in Punjab, vowed to continue supporting Khan. “We are standing with the PTI founder and will continue to stand with him,” she said. “Maryam Nawaz was convicted because of corruption, while I was convicted because of loyalty. I have already served 16 months in prison, I am not afraid.” Hamza added that she was consulting lawyers to appeal her sentence at the Lahore High Court (LHC).
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the convictions, warning of broader consequences. “We’ve said before that if injustice is allowed to thrive, then the voice of the people will be silenced,” he said. “If this blade of injustice doesn’t stop, the nation will suffer a great loss.” Gohar reiterated that PTI condemned the May 9 riots but noted that their petition for a hearing on the allegations was ignored. “Because the courts didn’t grant us justice, political tensions and instability rose,” he said.
Gohar also referenced unfulfilled promises of judicial access to Khan. “The chief justice of Pakistan summoned the party leadership, who requested a meeting with Imran,” he said. “It’s been six months and there has been no meeting.”
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