Senior members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party sentenced to 10 years; Shah Mahmood Qureshi acquitted
Anti-terrorism courts in Lahore and Sargodha have sentenced several senior members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to 10 years in prison for their involvement in the May 9, 2023, violence that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption-related case.
In Lahore, a court sentenced Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ijaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, and Mian Mahmood to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
Afzal Azim, Ali Hassan Khalid Qayyum, and Riaz Hussain were also sentenced to the same term.
However, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the party’s vice chairman and former foreign minister, was acquitted of the charges.
Hamza Azim Aitzaz, Rafiq Rana Tanveer Iftikhar Ahmed, and Zayas Khan, other senior activists of the PTI, were also acquitted by the court.
The judge claimed in the court session that “the conspiracy for the riots on May 9, 2023, was planned at Imran Khan’s residence.”
The verdicts come as cases related to the May 9 violence continue to be controversial in Pakistani political circles.
