An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Tuesday sentenced several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment each in connection with the May 9 violence case.

 

Ex-Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, PTI leader Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and Afzal Azeem Pahat have also been sentenced by the court in the same case.

 

Meanwhile, the court acquitted former foreign minister and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the same case, who, according to his defence, was in Karachi on the day of the alleged incident. Others acquitted in the same case include Hamza Azeem Pahat, Rana Tanveer, and Aizaz Rafiq.

 

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Sargodha sentenced Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar, Member of National Assembly (MNA) Mohammad Ahmed Chattha, and several other PTI workers to 10 years in prison each in a vandalism case related to the May 9 riots, registered at the Musakhel police station.

 

Opposition Leader Bachar has announced that he will challenge the conviction in the high court, alleging political victimisation and constitutional violations in the ATC’s judgment.

 

In a statement, Bachar asserted that the ruling was not grounded in constitutional principles but was instead politically motivated. “The verdict was delivered in a case that clearly deviated from constitutional standards,” he said.

 

He further claimed that legal procedures were not properly followed during the trial. Criticising the government, he stated, “Following the 26th Amendment, the ruling regime has brought the judiciary under its influence.”

 

The May 9 cases are linked to the violent protests that erupted across the country following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case. The unrest included attacks on public property and military installations, such as the Corps Commander House in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House.

 

While multiple PTI leaders and workers were released on bail after their arrests, many still remain behind bars.