ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday sentenced over a dozen members of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party to as much as 10 years in prison for their involvement in anti-government riots in May 2023.
The riots erupted after Khan was briefly arrested by in Islamabad on corruption charges on May 9, 2023, with his supporters attacking government buildings and military installations.
Thousands of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party members and supporters were later detained and hundreds were charged under anti-terrorism laws in a sweeping crackdown, with some cases referred to military courts.
On Monday, the ATC, which was hearing two 2023 riots cases at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat prison, sentenced PTI’s Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mahmood-ur-Rashid and Umar Sarfaraz Cheema among 11 individuals to 10 years in prison. Two other PTI members, Aliya Hamza Malik and Sanam Javed, were sentenced to five years in prison.
“This verdict stands as a flagrant travesty of justice, reducing the very notion of fairness to a hollow farce,” Zulfikar Bukhari, a PTI spokesman, said in a statement after Monday’s ruling.
“It is unfortunate that transparency [was] set aside in these cases and the accused were not even given the opportunity to defend themselves.”
This is the third such verdict against members of Khan’s party since July 22, when an ATC in Sargodha sentenced Ahmed Chattha, Bilal Ejaz and Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar to 10 years.
It was followed by the sentencing of 108 PTI members, including Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza and Zartaj Gul Wazir, to 10-years in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 31.
At the time, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar welcomed the court’s ruling, accusing PTI supporters of setting fire to government buildings, damaging military property and injuring law enforcement personnel during the May 9, 2023 unrest.
“This is a story of sacrifice to save the world from terrorism,” he had said. “Pakistan is a wall between terrorists and the world... if this wall becomes weak, the fire will not stop at our borders.”
Khan’s party denies encouraging violence and has rejected the terrorism charges against its members. Khan says he was in jail when the protests took place and did not direct the violence.
“The party shall resolutely petition the higher courts to redress this grave political injustice and vindicate the rule of law,” Bukhari said, in response to Monday’s verdict.
