ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday disqualified the Senate and National Assembly opposition leaders, Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza and other PTI lawmakers, following their convictions in cases related to the May 9 riots.
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting the party founder Imran Khan’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalizing 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.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Faisalabad last week sentenced over 100 leaders and workers of the PTI, including several key opposition figures, to jail terms of up to 10 years in connection with the May 9 riots. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz, MNA Zartaj Gul, Raza, Sheikh Rashid Shafique (nephew of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid), Kanwal Shauzab, Farah Agha, Rai Haider Kharal and Muhammad Ahmad Chattha were among those sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
A notification from the ECP today said Faraz, Ayub, Kharal, Raza, MNA Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, Gul, MPA Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi, and MPA Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal were now disqualified under Article 63(1h) (a person shall be disqualified from being elected [if] … he has been, on conviction for any offense involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years) of the Constitution, and their seats were vacant.
The development follows other recent disqualifications of PTI leaders and lawmakers.
On July 29, the ECP had disqualified MNA Abdul Latif from the NA-1 constituency (Upper and Lower Chitral), raising questions over the haste with which a flurry of similar decisions were taken in recent days.
On July 28, the commission had disqualified Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chatta and MPA Ahmad Khan.
On December 21 and 26 last year, a military court had sentenced over 50 PTI leaders and activists, including Imran Khan’s nephew Hassaan Niazi, to up to 10 years for their involvement in the May 9 riots.
The ATCs have been hearing May 9-related cases daily to meet a deadline set by the Supreme Court for the conclusion of trials by August.
Faisalabad ATC sentencing
The ATC had convicted the PTI lawmakers under Section 109 (punishment for abetment) and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in FIR No. 835/2023, registered at Ghulam Muhammadabad police station.
In FIR No. 1277/2023 of the same police station, 60 out of 67 accused were convicted, while seven were acquitted.
In FIR No. 832/2023, registered at the Civil Lines police station, 107 out of 108 accused were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment while one person received a three-year sentence. The judge acquitted 77 accused in this case, stating that the prosecution had failed to establish charges against them.
Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, MNA Zain Qureshi (son of PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi), MPA Khayal Ahmad Kastro and Faizullah Kamuka were acquitted in all three FIRs.
The judge had issued arrest warrants for those convicted who were not present in court and had directed the police to arrest all convicts and bring them before the court for imprisonment.
