On Wednesday, the Superior Court of Peshawar (PHC) on Wednesday awarded a protective bond to the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Shibli Faraz and Sartaj Gul, who were recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in relation to the disturbances of May 9, Express News reported.
The bank, after announcing the verdict reserved in its request, allowed both bail leaders until August 11 and ordered them to approach the pertinent superior court to present their appeals within this period.
The court also ordered that the two were not arrested during this time.
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The decision follows the ruling last week by an Special Anti -Terrorist Court (ATC) in Faisalabad, which condemned more than 100 PTI leaders for their alleged participation in the disturbances of May 9.
Among those convicted were opposition leaders in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, the opposition leader of the Senate, Shibli Faraz, Sartaj Gul, MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza and former Sheikh Rashid Shafiq. The ATC acquitted 77 of the 185 individuals involved in cases.
Subsequently, the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) on Tuesday was nine legislators affiliated with PTI, including Ayub and Faraz.
A notification issued by the Commission declared that a Senate and five seats from the National Vacancies Assembly, together with three seats from the Punjab Assembly. Other disqualified include Sartaj Gul, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Junaid Afzal Sahi, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, Rai Haider Ali and Ansar Iqbal.
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It is pertinent to mention that last month, a Lahore ATC had sentenced ten PTI leaders, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid, up to 10 years in prison, while an ATC in Sargodha delivered a sentence similar to the opposition leader of the PTI PiT Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachaha, and other workers of the party.
May 9 disturbances
May 9 riots burst throughout the country after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, after which PTI leaders and workers organized protests aimed at civil and military facilities, including Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
The military condemned events as a “black day” and decided to try the protesters under the Army Law.
As a result of the riots, many PTI members were arrested and tried in military courts. In December, a military court condemned 25 people, including Imran Khan’s nephew, Hassan Khan Niazi, and then sentenced to 60 more.
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In January, 19 convicts had their forgiven sentences after successful appeals of mercy, although PTI expressed dissatisfaction with the limited number of pardons.
Initially, the military trials had stopped after a ruling of the Supreme Court, but resumed after the court instructions to finish pending cases and announce judgments for those involved in violent incidents.
