RAWALPINDI — A special anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has delivered a landmark ruling against the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), sentencing forty-seven prominent members and supporters to ten years in prison. The verdict, announced Saturday by Judge Amjad Ali Shah, stems from the violent events of May 9, 2023, which saw protesters attempt to storm the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan Army following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The court convicted the individuals in absentia, as they had been previously declared proclaimed offenders for evading legal proceedings. Alongside the decade-long prison terms, each convict has been ordered to pay a fine of five hundred thousand Pakistani Rupees and faces the immediate confiscation of their personal assets and properties. Failure to settle the financial penalties will result in an extension of their jail time.
The prosecution’s case centered on a coordinated conspiracy to attack military installations and civilian infrastructure. Specific targets cited in the judgment include the main gate of the GHQ, the Army Museum, Hamza Camp, and the Sixth Road Metro Station. A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report was instrumental in the conviction, identifying the named individuals as primary planners behind the arson and vandalism that paralyzed parts of the country during the protests.
High-ranking PTI officials named in the sentencing include Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, and Zartaj Gul. Other notable figures such as Shahbaz Gill, Hammad Azhar, and Zulfi Bukhari were also among those convicted. Many of these leaders have remained in hiding or have fled the country since the initiation of the state’s crackdown on party activists nearly three years ago.
This sentencing is a significant development in the broader legal proceedings involving 118 accused persons, including PTI founder Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. While Khan remains in Adiala Jail facing separate charges, this ruling underscores the judiciary’s firm stance on the May 9 riots. The PTI has consistently denied the allegations, characterizing the trials as a campaign of political victimization.
