A special anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Faisalabad on Thursday awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to 108 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers for their involvement in the May 9 riots.

 

As per the details, the court sentenced leader of the opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Omar Ayub Khan, Senator Shibli Faraz, senior PTI leader Zartaj Gul and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza while acquitting former federal minister for information Fawad Chaudhry, Zain Qureshi and ex-provincial minister Khayal Ahmad Kastro in the same case.

 

Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Junaid Afzal Sahi with a three-year-imprisonment was also among the 108 convicts out of the total 185 accused of violent protests that erupted across the country following the arrest of former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan in 2023.

 

The unrest included attacks on public property and military installations, such as the Corps Commander House in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House.

 

Last week, an ATC in Lahore also sentenced several PTI leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmood Ur Rasheed, to 10 years in prison in connection with the May 9 violence case.

 
Ex-Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and Afzal Azeem Pahat were also sentenced by the court.

 
It merits a mention that a court had earlier acquitted former foreign minister and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the same case as he was in Karachi on the day of the incident. Others acquitted in the case include Hamza Azeem Pahat, Rana Tanveer and Aizaz Rafiq.