LAHORE:
Another anti-terrorism court on Friday found some key PTI leaders – Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhary and Mehmood-ur-Rasheed – guilty in a May 9 riots case and sentenced each of them to ten years in prison.
However, the court acquitted some other PTI leaders and workers, including the party’s jailed vice-president Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after the prosecution failed to establish the case against them.
ATC judge Manzar Ali Gill ruled that in case of non-payment of the fine, the convicts would have to undergo an additional year of imprisonment.
The judge issued the order at the conclusion of the hearing in the GOR Gate attack case.
The case was registered by the Race Course police station under the country’s anti-terrorism law against acts of vandalism committed on May 9, 2023 following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the FIR, the accused vandalized the security cameras of Club Chowk and GOR Gate in Lahore, damaged police wireless equipment and broke glass in the door. The defendants were also accused of damaging state property and attacking police personnel.
PTI leaders have been accused of instigating party workers to engage in violence, arson and acts of rebellion during the May 9 riots.
According to the case file, the prosecution questioned 56 witnesses during the trial. A total of 25 accused were named in the case, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhary and Mahmood-ur-Rasheed.
In its verdict, the court convicted a total of 13 defendants, while eight others were acquitted. The decision was announced in a courtroom of Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
The court also ordered the arrest and presentation of four defendants who were declared guilty during the trial. Among them are Farooq Anjum, Habib Ahmed, Arsalan and Akbar Khan.
A day earlier, the court had reserved its ruling after concluding the hearing.
On August 11, the same judge awarded 10-year prison sentences each to Yasmin, Ejaz Chaudhary, Rasheed and Cheema in another case on May 9.
