An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad sentenced on Monday senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz and 57 others each to 10 years in prison in the May 9 case about an attack on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah’s residence.
Of the 59 persons convicted in the case, 17 were PTI leaders. Sixteen other accused were also convicted and sentenced to three years in prison each. The latter group included MPA Sheikh Shahid Javed of PP-115.
Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry and PTI lawmaker Zain Qureshi were acquitted.
The case was part of a series of trials relating to the violent unrest that erupted during protests against the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan from Islamabad High Court premises on May 9, 2023.
On July 31, ATC in Faislabad sentenced top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders to up to 10 years in prison in cases on the May 9 protests
Opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub, opposition leader in Senate Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza and former MNA Sheikh Rashid Shafiq were among the 108 PTI leaders convicted out of the 185 implicated in the cases while 77 others were acquitted.
Read: PTI’s Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz sentenced to up to 10 years in May 9 cases
Around 60 of those convicted, including Faraz, Ayub, Gul and Raza were sentenced to 10 years in prison each while other convicts were each handed prison terms of three years.
Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry was acquitted along with Zain Qureshi, Khayal Kastro, Faizullah Kamoka, Rana Asad Mehmood Khan, Bilal Ashraf Basra, Haroon Rasheed, Amara Rasheed, Sahibzada Hassan Raza, and Kamran Warraich.
Shafiq was absent from court during the hearing and did not appear. He has reportedly gone into hiding to avoid arrest.
Earlier, the Supreme Court granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan on the principle of consistency in eight cases linked to the May 9 riots, overturning an earlier Lahore High Court ruling that had refused him bail.
Read more: Supreme Court grants Imran Khan bail in eight May 9 cases
“The case of the petitioner has to be positively considered in view of the principle of consistency, as others similarly placed have been granted bail by this Court,” said the four-page order authored by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.
The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Afridi, allowed Khan’s petitions against the June 24 decision of the Lahore High Court. The cases stemmed from multiple FIRs registered in Lahore after violent protests that followed Khan’s arrest.
