Pakistan court sentences 4 PTI leaders for 10 years in connection with May 9 riots

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday sentenced four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders- Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry and several others to 10 years in prison in cases related to the May 9 riots, Geo News reported.

ATC Judge Arshad Javed announced the verdict inside Kot Lakhpat Jail.

The cases, registered by Gulberg and Naseerabad police, related to the burning of vehicles in Gulberg and a container at Kalma Chowk during the May 9 riots in 2023, Geo News reported.


The Gulberg police's chargesheet named 33 individuals, while Naseerabad police submitted a separate chargesheet listing 36 suspects connected to the Kalma Chowk container arson case, Geo News reported.

In the Gulberg case, seven suspects -- including Rashid -- have been sentenced to 10 years each, 22 have been acquitted, while four suspects have been declared absconding.

In the Kalma Chowk case, the ATC sentenced a total of 24 individuals to 10 years each, acquitted five, and declared seven suspects absconding.

The sentences follow five earlier convictions of Rashid, Cheema, Mahmoodur Rashid, and Chaudhry in cases linked to the May 9 riots. The court declared PTI's Mian Aslam Iqbal absconding in both cases.

The PTI leaders' jail sentences come just a day after another ATC handed them and three others 10-year jail sentences in a case related to the May 9 riots. The court, however, acquitted Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior party leader and a former foreign minister, and 13 others, as per Geo News.

Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan stormed public property and military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore, on May 9, 2023, in protest against the former premier's arrest.

The riots erupted after the PTI founder was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case, as per Geo News.

During the unrest, the supporters of Khan -- the only prime minister in Pakistan's history to be ousted via a no-confidence vote -- targeted civil and military installations, including the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.