LAHORE (MNN); An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a case linked to the May 9, 2023 riots, while sentencing four senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders to 10 years imprisonment each.
ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the reserved verdict in the Mughalpura police case, which involved allegations of attacks on and arson of police vehicles during the violent protests that followed the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.
The court sentenced Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10 years in prison. Several other PTI workers were also convicted and handed similar sentences.
The accused were presented before a special court set up inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. Alongside Qureshi, the court acquitted 11 PTI workers due to insufficient evidence.
A total of 22 PTI leaders and workers had been nominated in the case, while two suspects were earlier declared proclaimed offenders for failing to appear before the court.
According to the prosecution, the accused played a role in planning and inciting the violence that erupted across the country on May 9. Prosecutors presented testimony from 37 witnesses and argued that the evidence justified convictions under anti-terrorism and other relevant laws.
The unrest broke out after Imran Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The protests later turned violent, with attacks on military installations, government buildings and the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence.
The latest ruling is part of a series of judgments in May 9-related cases. Rashid, Cheema, Rasheed and Chaudhry have already been convicted and sentenced in several other cases connected to the riots.
In December 2025, the same court had acquitted Shah Mahmood Qureshi in another May 9 case relating to an attack on the entrance gate of Government Officers Residence-I at Club Chowk, while awarding 10-year prison terms to the same four PTI leaders.
