Rawalpindi ATC sentences 47 PTI leaders to 10 years in May 9 GHQ attack case

WEB DESK: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi has sentenced 47 proclaimed offenders, including senior members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment each in connection with the May 9, 2023 attacks in Pakistan and the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ).

According to The Express Tribune, the convicts, tried in absentia, were also fined Rs500,000 each, while the court ordered the confiscation of their movable and immovable properties. Among those named in the verdict are Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Murad Saeed, Zartaj Gul, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, and Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, among others.

The court held the accused guilty of conspiracy, arson, vandalism, attacking police personnel, and damaging state property, including the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp, the Army Museum, and the Sixth Road Metro Station, during unrest that followed the arrest of Imran Khan.

All 47 individuals had been declared proclaimed offenders after remaining absent from proceedings for nearly two years. The court granted them 60 days until 7 May to surrender. Should they appear before the court within that period, their sentences will be annulled and the case retried on merit.

Failure to pay the imposed fine will result in additional imprisonment, while arrest warrants have already been issued for the convicts.

The ruling forms part of a broader case involving 118 accused, including Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, with proceedings in the matter still ongoing.