- Web Desk
- Aug 15, 2025
Qureshi acquitted, Yasmin Rashid convicted in Sherpao bridge case
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- Web Desk
- Jul 22, 2025
LAHORE: PTI senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was acquitted in one of the cases related to the May 9 attacks along with five other accused, but the likes of Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mahmood-ur-Rasheed were awarded 10-year imprisonment on late Tuesday by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore.
It is the Sherpao bridge arson case in which the ATC judge, Arshad Javed, announced the judgment.
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Other prominent convicted PTI leaders include Omar Sarfraz Cheema, who also served as the Punjab governor for a short period, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
Besides Qureshi, five other accused have also been cleared of all the charges.
Meanwhile, the total number of PTI associates sentenced in the Sherpao bridge case is nine. All of them received a 10-year jail term.
The latest sentencing in the May 9 saga comes on a day which earlier saw Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Bachar as well as two sitting MNAs sentenced in the Mianwali attack case.
As far as the current status of the convicted PTI leaders is concerned, Yasmin, Rasheed, Cheema and Chaudhry are languishing in the Central Jail Lahore, commonly known as the Kot Lakhpat jail.
It is just like the Adiala jail being known for the locality where it is established. The formal name of the facility is Central Jail Rawalpindi.
IMRAN KHAN’S FUTURE
Earlier in the day, the ruling PML-N leaders hailed the verdict in the Mianwali attack case, but also expressed reservations over the “lenient treatment” given to the PTI.
The reason cited for this argument is the delay in court proceedings in different cases. But with Yasmin Rashid and others being also convicted, their reservations may soon be over.
Meanwhile, the party founder, Imran Khan, is also nominated in the multiple May 9 cases. One of those is the GHQ attack case.
Given the swift announcement of judgments soon after the Senate polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it is feared that Imran too might be sentenced soon.
He is accused of being the mastermind of the May 9 attacks, which seemingly erupted spontaneously but clearly showed “detailed planning” given the target chosen and the way the protesters reached those sites.
On the other hand, there is another possibility. The PTI may explode.
The recent Senate polls again proved the existence of serious divisions within the PTI while a senior party leader Shaukat Yousafzai too has admitted the grouping.
Everything revolving around Imran means the threat of PTI not surviving for long in the present shape in genuine.
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