An anti -terrorism court of Faisalabad (ATC) on Monday sentenced the key leaders of PTI Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz and Sartaj Gul, along with another 56, 10 years in jail and acquitted 34 in the case of an attack on the house of former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah during May 9, 2023 Riots.
On May 9, 2023, military facilities and state buildings were destroyed when PTI supporters protested the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was released later, but has been imprisoned in several cases since August 2023. After the disturbances, thousands of protest, including the maximum leadership of the party, were arrested.
Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh presided over today’s hearing on the case registered in the Samanabad Police on May 9, 2023.
The head of the PTI legal team, Malik Khalid Shafiq, confirmed the sentences to Dawn.com. He said that of the total of 109 defendants, 59 received 10 years in rigorous prison and 16 received three years in prison.
Ayub, Faraz and Gul, as well as Muhammad Ahmad Chattha, were recently disqualified from their parliamentary seats after their sentences in other cases of May 9.
Other PTI leaders included Sheikh Rashid Shafique (nephew of former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed), Ashraf Khan Sohna, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, former Mna Kanwal Shauzab and former Punjab Mpa Farah Agha. They were also convicted in other cases of May 9 on July 31.
Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who resigned from PTI in the wake of May 9 incidents, and Mna Zain Qureshi (son of the vice president of PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi) were among those released from today’s positions.
Fawad and Zain had also been acquitted in three other cases of Faisalabad related to the disturbances of May 9.
PTI parliamentarians condemned to face the automatic disqualification of article 63 (1) (g) of the Constitution, which prohibits members condemned by crimes that involve moral turbitude or corrupt practices.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, Gul said in X that he was innocent.
She argued that the verdict was based on the argument that it was present at a meeting held at the Zaman Park of Imran in Lahore on May 7, 2023, where plans were made for the protest.
However, according to Gul, he was present in his constituency Dera Ghazi Khan that day, attending a “fateha, inauguration, wedding and other events.” He also shared the publications screen on the social networks that showed his activities that day, and added that he had presented this evidence in the Court.
Ayub said he was never there outside the house of Saraullah and that the witnesses of the Prosecutor’s Office had not appointed him.
“In addition, the testimony of these witnesses of prosecution was rejected by ATC Sargodha last year. These witnesses of prosecution were qualified as liars by the judge of ATC Sargodha. This brings the total prison sentences against me to 40 years.”
The deadline given to ATCS to decide several cases in May had already passed earlier this month. Therefore, the daily hearings were held in the case, according to PTI’s lawyer, Shafiq.
Last week, the Kasur Crime Control Department (CCD) presented the former officer of the Faisalabad Zeeshan Khalid Randhawa Civil Line Station as a witness during the trial. The former sho was already under arrest in a case of kidnapping and murder separate from a Kasur resident.
An ATC had convened a joint research team investigating the case in July 2024 to present the charges.
Prayers against opposition accumulate
Today’s convictions are the last in a series of ATC sentences, in which more than 100 leaders and PTI workers have received long prison terms.
On July 22, a Lahore ATC had given Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Chema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and other PTI leaders 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in a case related to vandalism in the Sherpao bridge. However, the imprisoned Shah Mahmood Qureshi and another five were acquitted.
The same day, a Sargodha ATC had sentenced up to 32 defendants, including the then opposition leader of the Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachaha, in a case recorded at the Musakhel Police station.
On July 31, a Faisalabad ATC had sentenced more than 100 leaders and PTI workers to 10 years in prison in three cases. Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Sartaj Gul and the head of the Sunita Ittehad, Hamid Raza Council, were among the key leaders of the opposition delivered 10 years in prison.
In one case, 60 of 67 accused were convicted, while seven were acquitted. In another case, 107 of 108 accused were sentenced to 10 years in rigorous prison, while a person received a three -year and 77 sentence were acquitted.
On August 1, a Sargodha ATC condemned the worker of PTI Muhammad Ismail to a rigorous perpetual chain in the cases of May 9 related to an attack against the judicial complex in Mianwali and declared another 50 as proclaimed criminals.
