Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court on Saturday sentenced four senior leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran KhanThe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sentenced former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and 11 others to 10 years in prison for their role in the May 9, 2023 riots, while acquitting former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and 11 others due to lack of evidence.Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Manzer Ali Gill delivered the verdict in a case related to the attack on a police vehicle in the city’s Mogalpura area during the nationwide unrest following Khan’s arrest in May 2023.Former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab Minister Mian Mehmudur Rashid and former Senator Ejaz Chaudhry were convicted for their involvement in the attack and arson of a police vehicle. The four have been imprisoned in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail since 2023 and were previously sentenced in other cases related to the riots.However, the court acquitted Qureshi and 11 PTI workers, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges against them. Qureshi remains imprisoned in connection with multiple other cases and has been detained since 2023.PTI rejected the ruling, calling the case a fabrication and questioning the fairness of the judicial process.In a statement after the verdict, the party said the verdict raised “deep concerns about due process, access to justice and the integrity of proceedings”.“Several individuals involved in the May 9 related cases were apparently not at all in Pakistan at the time of the incident,” PTI said.“This apparent inconsistency casts serious doubt on the credibility of the broader legal process surrounding these cases,” the statement added.The party further argued that the defendants were deprived of the guarantees of a “free and fair trial” and claimed that the proceedings were conducted in an environment of “political pressure, restricted access, prolonged detention and repeated violations of fundamental legal rights”.“The result is less an exercise of justice than the continuation of a systematic campaign to punish political opponents through the courts,” the party claimed.PTI said it will challenge the verdict through all available legal and constitutional avenues.The case stems from violent protests that broke out across Pakistan after the arrest of former cricketer-turned-politician Khan on May 9, 2023. Demonstrators targeted dozens of military installations and state-owned buildings, particularly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.Khan, 73, has been imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since August 2023 and faces multiple legal cases. The former prime minister and his party have maintained that the case against the PTI leader is politically motivated.
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