LAHORE:
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Sargodha has sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker Ismael Khan to life imprisonment and forfeited his entire property to the state in connection with a May 9 riot case filed with the Mianwali police.
This is the third judgment among those delivered by Anti-Terrorism Courts in which the convict’s entire property has been forfeited to the government. A total of 120 PTI leaders and workers have had their properties confiscated.
Previously, a Faisalabad court forfeited the properties of 90 convicts to the government, while 29 others had their properties forfeited by the Sargodha court under Section 7(2) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
Read More: PTI’s Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz sentenced to up to 10 years in May 9 cases
On May 9, 2023, PTI lawmakers and supporters staged violent protests across the country in response to the arrest of party founder Imran Khan. The protests involved vandalism of military installations and state-owned buildings, including the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore.
The case involves charges against 53 accused individuals, including prominent PTI lawmakers such as opposition leaders Omar Ayub (National Assembly) and Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar (Punjab Assembly).
However, two accused, Ayub and Ziaul Haq, initially absconded during their statements under Section 342 of the CrPC. Additionally, 50 other accused fled during the final arguments, leading to their case being separated from that of the remaining accused after proclamations were issued.
The ATC judge noted that attempts appeared to be made to delay the proceedings by these absconders, potentially indicating deliberate efforts to prolong the decision of the case.
