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 rioting case and sentenced each to ten years in prison.
However, the court acquitted some other PTI leaders and workers, including the party’s incarcerated vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after the prosecution failed to establish the case against them.
ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gill ruled that in case of their failure to pay the fine, the convicts would have to undergo an additional one-year imprisonment.
The judge issued the order at the conclusion of the hearing of the GOR Gate attack case.
The case was registered by the Race Course Police Station under the country’s anti-terror law against the acts of vandalism committed on May 9, 2023 after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
As per the FIR, the accused had vandalised security cameras at Club Chowk and GOR Gate in Lahore, damaged police wireless equipment and broke glass panes at the gate. The accused were also charged with 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 record, the prosecution examined 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 verdict, the court awarded sentences to a total of 13 accused, while eight others were acquitted. The decision was announced inside a courtroom at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.
The court also ordered the arrest and production of four accused who were declared proclaimed offenders during the trial. These include Farooq Anjum, Habib Ahmed, Arsalan and Akbar Khan.
A day earlier, the court had reserved its judgment after concluding the hearing.
On August 11, the same judge awarded 10-year prison terms each to Dr Yasmin, Ejaz Chaudhary, and Rasheed and Cheema in another May 9 case.
