Pakistan PTI leaders sentenced to 10 years jail in May 9 cases

By Iftikhar Shirazi, DAWN, July 31: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad on Thursday sentenced PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza, and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years of imprisonment for their involvement in the May 9 riots.

On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting the party founder Imran Khan’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested.

Out of 185 PTI workers accused, 108 have been sentenced by the court on Thursday. PTI’s Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), Junaid Afzal Sahi, was sentenced to three years in prison. Meanwhile, MPA Khayal Ahmad Kastro, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Zain Qureshi, and former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry have been acquitted in the cases.

Reacting to the development, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the party will challenge the decision in the high courts.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad on Thursday, Gohar said: “We will raise the issue with PTI Founder Imran Khan on the future course of action regarding whether we should return to the parliament or launch a movement.”

He said that the “political cases against PTI members were baseless”, adding that the PTI believed in running the system instead of believing in extremism.

“We do not believe in violence or incitement in politics. Those who have been convicted today do not believe in the politics of violence.”

The PTI, in a post on X, also decried the decision, saying the party’s leaders have been “unjustly targeted in the false flag operation of 9th May.”

In May, an ATC in Islamabad sentenced PTI members, including MNA Abdul Latif, to 27 years of imprisonment for attacking a police station during the May 9 riots.

In December 2024, military courts had sentenced 85 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in violent attacks on military installations during the riots on May 9.