LAHORE:
Another Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) 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 them to ten years in prison each.
However, the court acquitted other PTI leaders and workers, including the party’s incarcerated vice-president Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after the prosecution failed to establish the charges against them.
ATC judge Manzar Ali Gill ruled that in case of non-payment of the fine, the convicts would have to undergo additional imprisonment of one year.
The judge issued the order after the hearing in the GOR Gate attack case.
The case was registered by the Racecourse Police Station under the country’s anti-terrorism law against acts of vandalism committed on May 9, 2023 after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the FIR, the accused had vandalized security cameras at Club Chowk and GOR Gate in Lahore, damaged police wireless equipment and broken the glass panes of the gate. The defendants were also accused of damaging state property and attacking police officers.
PTI leaders were accused of inciting party members to indulge in violence, arson and acts of rebellion during the May 9 riots.
According to the filing, the prosecution interviewed 56 witnesses during the trial. A total of 25 accused, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhary and Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, have been named in the case.
In its verdict, the court handed down sentences to a total of 13 defendants, while eight others were acquitted. The decision was announced in a courtroom at Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore.
The court also ordered the arrest and production of four accused who were declared delinquent during the trial. These include Farooq Anjum, Habib Ahmed, Arsalan and Akbar Khan.
A day earlier, the court had reserved its judgment following the hearing.
On August 11, the same judge handed down prison sentences of 10 years each to Dr Yasmin, Ejaz Chaudhary, as well as Rasheed and Cheema in another case from May 9.
