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 – found guilty in a May 9 rioting case and sentenced to ten years in prison each.
However, the court acquitted some other PTI leaders and workers, including the party’s jailed vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after the prosecution failed to establish the case against them.
ATC judge Manzar Ali Gill ruled that in case they failed to pay the fine, the convicts would have to undergo an additional year of imprisonment.
The judge issued the order at the end of the hearing of the GOR Gate attack case.
The case was registered by the Race Course Police Station under the country’s anti-terrorism law against vandalism committed on 9 May 2023 following 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 shattered glass panes at the gate. The accused were also accused of damaging government property and assaulting policemen.
PTI leaders have been accused of inciting party workers to engage in violence, arson and acts of sedition during the May 9 unrest.
According to the case record, the prosecution questioned 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, were nominated in the case.
In its judgment, the court awarded sentences to a total of 13 defendants, while eight others were acquitted. The decision was announced in a courtroom in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
The court also ordered the arrest and production of four accused who were declared criminals during the trial. These include Farooq Anjum, Habib Ahmed, Arsalan and Akbar Khan.
A day earlier, the court had reserved its verdict after concluding the hearing.
On August 11, the same judge awarded 10 years in prison each to Dr. Yasmin, Ejaz Chaudhary and Rasheed and Cheema in another case on May 9.
