LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday sentenced PTI leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed to 10 years in prison terms in two more May 9 cases.
The latest court verdict comes a day after a Lahore ATC acquitted PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while sentencing four other leaders, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid, and Ejaz Chaudhry, to 10 years in prison in another case related to the May 9 riots.
Rana Mudassar, the counsel for the PTI leaders, confirmed the development to media, saying the cases are related to the burning of police vehicles in Lahore’s Gulberg and the burning of a container near Kalma Chowk during the nationwide riots on May 9, 2023 following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.
On that day, supporters and workers of the party, reacting to founder Imran Khan’s arrest, vandalised and torched military installations and government properties. The state subsequently launched a crackdown against Imran and his party, booking the party founder and its leadership in multiple cases.
ATC-III Judge Arshad Javed presided over the hearings for both cases today in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. A total of 22 accused were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while five were acquitted in the Kalma Chowk case. In the Gulberg case, the judge handed down sentences to five, including the PTI leaders, while acquitting 22 others.
The judge noted that former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had not yet been indicted in either case and his trial would proceed separately once a supplementary challan was submitted by the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, a total of 78 witnesses were presented in both cases. In the Gulberg case, a challan was filed against 33 individuals, while four others were declared proclaimed offenders during the trial.
In the Kalma Chowk case, the prosecution filed a challan against 36 people, while 12 others, including Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, Zubair Niazi, and Mian Aslam Iqbal, were declared absconders.
The prosecutor argued that PTI leaders had instigated party workers to revolt and create public disorder.
Talking to the media later, PTI’s counsel said the cases were scheduled for routine proceedings, but “sentences have been handed down once again in the darkness of night”.
He added that the defence was not given the chance to fully present its case.
“The morale of the prisoners in Kot Lakhpat Jail is high. So far, the leaders have been sentenced to a total of more than 200 years,” the counsel said, adding that the sentences would be challenged in the high court.
With these verdicts, decisions have now been announced in seven of the 14 cases related to the May 9 riots registered in Lahore. Verdicts had previously been announced in trials concerning an attack on Shadman Police Station, violence at Sherpao Bridge, the burning of police vehicles near Rahat Bakery, the torching of a Supreme Court judge’s squad vehicle near Jinnah House, and an attack on the entrance gate of the GOR-I Club Chowk.
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