An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has sentenced senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry, besides 10 others, to a rigorous 10-year imprisonment in yet another May 9 rioting case while acquitting former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

 

As per the details, the leaders were sentenced in a case pertaining to the burning of police vehicles near Jinnah House in Lahore Cantonment.

 

Ex-provincial minister for housing and urban development Mian Mehmood Ur Rasheed and former Punjab governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema were also among the leaders who were awarded 10 years’ imprisonment.

 

The court also awarded a five-year sentence to former ruling party leader and fashion designer Khadija Shah.

 

The development comes a month after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-notified several PTI lawmakers, including the opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly, Senator Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub Khan, respectively, following their convictions in May 9 cases.

 

Said cases are linked to the violent protests that erupted across the country and continued for at least 24 hours following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in 2023. The unrest included attacks on public property and military installations, such as the Corps Commander's House in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House.

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