ATC dismisses Dr Yasmin Rashid’s bail pleas in May 9 cases

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has dismissed former provincial minister Dr Yasmin Rashid’s bail applications in two May 9 cases, terming them ‘infructuous’.

ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gull heard the petitions, which were filed in connection with cases registered at Shadman police station and over the arson at Rahat Bakery.

Dr Yasmin Rashid had been handed 10-year prison sentences in both cases.

The court remarked that the bail petitions had become ineffective after the verdicts were announced in the cases.

On July 22, the Lahore ATC had sentenced Dr Yasmin Rashid, along with PTI leaders Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Ejaz Chaudhry and Sarfraz Cheema, to 10 years in prison in the Sherpao Bridge arson case, while acquitting Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hamza Azeem and four others.

The same day, an ATC in Sargodha handed down a 10-year sentence to Punjab Assembly opposition leader Malik Ahmad Bachar and others over a protest in Mianwali on May 9, 2023.

Similarly, on August 11, Yasmin Rashid was again convicted in two cases related to the violent protests on May 9. The ATC had acquitted senior politician Shah Mehmood Qureshi in both cases.

According to the case registered at Shadman police station, Dr Yasmin Rashid and other PTI leaders vandalised public property on May 9, following the arrest of their party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

A comprehensive report — compiled by Punjab Home Department about May 9 riots — held PTI leadership accountable for May 9 violence in Lahore.

It named PTI leaders including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Hammad Azhar, Ejaz Chaudhry, Ghulam Mohiuddin, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid, Umar Sarfaraz Cheema, Mansab Awan, Azam Khan Niazi, Bajash Niazi and Murad Raas.

The 17-page report, endorsed by the Standing Committee on Law and Order, characterized the May 9 events as a “war against the state”, stating that the attack on military and state institutions were pre-planned.

“The institutions were attacked at the behest of PTI central and local leadership,” it added.