25 members of Imran Khan's party get 10-year imprisonment in cases related to riots in 2023

Lahore, Aug 11 (PTI) A Pakistani court on Monday sentenced 25 members of jailed prime minister Imran Khan's party to 10 years of imprisonment each in two cases related to the May 9 riots in 2023, an official said.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore, however, acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in both cases.

“ATC Lahore Judge Manzer Ali Gill handed down 10-year sentence each to former Punjab ministers Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmoodur Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudry, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and 21 other PTI supporters in two cases – attack on a police station and torching of police vehicles in Lahore on May 9, 2023,” a court official told PTI.

He said the judge announced the verdict at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where all proceedings of the cases were held.

On May 9, 2023, military installations and state-owned buildings were vandalised after the arrest of PTI founder Khan. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including the party's top leadership, were arrested. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

Last month, ATC Faisalabad handed down a 10-year jail term each to 166 PTI members, including opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate and several lawmakers, in an attack on the ISI building and other military installations on May 9, 2023, in Punjab province.

The PTI has condemned the sentences, saying neither was any transparent or legal procedure followed in the cases, nor was any credible witness presented. The PTI announced challenging the “biased decision” in the Lahore High Court.

"The truth is that the military establishment's role in this entire process is evident to all, and nothing called justice remains. These punishments are not only vengeful actions but also an insult to the country's democracy, judiciary, and people, and now the people will no longer stay silent," Khan's party said. PTI MZ SCY SCY