ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, along with five others, was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore in connection with the May 9 arson case at Sherpao Bridge. However, key party figures including Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Omar Sarfraz Cheema were sentenced to 10 years in prison in the same case.
The verdict was announced late Monday night by Judge Arshad Javed at Kot Lakhpat Jail, in the presence of the accused. Those acquitted alongside Qureshi include Hamza Azim, Aizaz Rafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rana Tanveer, and Zias Khan.
In contrast, the court handed down ten-year prison sentences to PTI leaders Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, drawing sharp reactions from party members.
Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, PTI lawyer and senior leader Salman Akram Raja stated that it is “premature” to assume Shah Mahmood Qureshi will assume leadership of the party, noting that “8 to 9 cases are still pending against him.”
Read Top Stories
He also expressed deep concerns over the state of the judiciary in Pakistan. “We will continue to fight, and we will continue to speak up for the independence of the judiciary. The entire system is under control — this is a challenge for the people. Living nations must respond,” he said.
The contrasting outcomes in the same case have intensified political discourse, with PTI alleging selective justice and targeting of its leadership through legal means.