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A Pakistan anti-terrorism court sentenced four senior PTI leaders to 10 years in the May 9 riots case. The split verdict, which acquitted Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has intensified PTI's attack on the trial's fairness.
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Lahore,UPDATED: Jun 20, 2026 19:22 IST
A Pakistan anti-terrorism court has sentenced four senior leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to 10 years in prison in a case linked to the May 9, 2023 riots. In the same case, the court acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and 11 other PTI workers for lack of evidence.
The case is tied to the violent protests that broke out across Pakistan after Khan's arrest in 2023. The protests, centred mainly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saw demonstrators vandalise dozens of military installations and state-owned buildings.
The four convicted leaders are former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry. They were found guilty over their role in attacking and burning police vehicles in Lahore's Mughalpura area.
The verdict, which had been reserved on Thursday, was delivered by Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Manzer Ali Gill. The four convicts have been lodged in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2023 and have earlier also been sentenced in other cases related to the riots.
Qureshi, who was acquitted in this case, has also been in jail since 2023 in multiple other cases. Khan, 73, has been lodged in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.
PTI rejected the verdict, calling it a "fake case". In a statement on Saturday, the party said the judgment raised "profound concerns about due process, judicial fairness and the integrity of the proceedings".
"Several individuals implicated in May 9-related cases were demonstrably not even present in Pakistan at the time of the alleged incidents," the party said. "Such glaring inconsistencies cast serious doubt on the credibility of the broader legal process surrounding these cases," it added.
The party further said the accused were denied the guarantees of a "free and fair trial", with proceedings taking place in an environment marked by "political pressure, restricted access, prolonged detentions and repeated violations of fundamental legal rights". It also claimed, "The outcome appears less an exercise of justice and more a continuation of a systematic campaign to punish political opponents through the courts," and said it would challenge the verdict through available legal and constitutional avenues.
The verdict in the May 9 riots case has resulted in 10-year jail terms for four senior PTI leaders, while Qureshi and 11 other party workers were acquitted for lack of evidence, as the party said it would challenge the ruling.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jun 20, 2026 19:22 IST
