Pak court sentences 4 leaders of Imran Khan’s party to 10-year jail, ex-FM Qureshi acquitted

A Pakistan court on Saturday sentenced four senior leaders of jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party to 10-year imprisonment in a case related to the 2023 riots, while it acquitted ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Violent protests erupted across the country on May 9, 2023, mainly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, following the arrest of former cricketer-turned-politician Khan. The protesters vandalised dozens of military installations and state-owned buildings. Former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, and former Senator Ejaz Chaudhry were convicted for their role in attacking and burning police vehicles in Mughalpura area of Lahore.

The verdict, which was reserved on Thursday, was pronounced by Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Manzer Ali Gill. The convicts have been lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2023 and have earlier been sentenced in other cases related to the riots. The ATC acquitted Qureshi and 11 other PTI workers due to a lack of evidence against them. Qureshi has also been in jail since 2023 in multiple other cases.