ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad sentenced senior aides of former prime minister Imran Khan for up to 10 years in prison on Monday for being involved in the attack on a federal minister’s house during the May 9, 2023, riots, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement.
Angry Khan supporters took to the streets on May 9, 2023, when the former prime minister was first briefly arrested by the country’s anti-corruption agency, NAB, in a land bribery case popularly called the Al-Qadir trust case. The government says supporters of Khan’s PTI had attacked important state buildings and damaged vehicles during the riots and ransacked military facilities. Khan and his aides deny instigating supporters to attack government and military installations.
According to the PTI, the ATC sentenced 75 people out of a total of 109 accused, acquitting 34. Fifty-nine were issued 10-year prison sentences, including senior Khan aides Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul Wazir, and others for attacking the residence of Minister for Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah in Faisalabad during the May 9 riots, the party said.
“Under the guise of May 9, innumerable injustices have been inflicted upon ordinary citizens, families and leadership of PTI, harassed, lives shattered, and individuals subjected to unspeakable torment,” the PTI said in a message to the media.
