An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Saturday convicted 47 people, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Murad Saeed, Shibli Faraz, Shahbaz Gill, and Hammad Azhar, to 10 years’ rigorous punishment each in a case related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
Additionally, ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah found Kanwal Shuzaib, Rashid Shafiq, Zulfi Bukhari, Muhammad Ahmed Chatha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Muhammad Murtaza, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra, and Ijaz Khan guilty of conspiracy in the riots.
Earlier this year, the court had declared all accused proclaimed offenders for failing to appear during proceedings and appointed a state counsel to serve as their defense. Several of the convicted PTI leaders have previously been found guilty in separate May 9 cases and are currently absconders.
The court held the accused responsible for organizing violent protests, arson, vandalism, attacks on police, and damage to government property. In his ruling, Judge Shah ruled that the convicted people were involved in attacks on key military installations, including the GHQ Gate, Hamza Camp, and the Army Museum. Apart from their prison sentence, they were imposed fines of Rs. 500,000 each and orders were issued for confiscation of their property.
The case had originally pertained to 118 accused, including PTI founder Imran Khan and senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi. During the trial, the court recorded statements from 44 prosecution witnesses.