LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore today delivered landmark verdicts in two cases related to the May 9, 2023 unrest. Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry. All were convicted for their alleged roles in the violent protests that followed the arrest of Imran Khan. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior PTI leader, was acquitted, although he remains in custody on unrelated charges .
These rulings are the latest in a series of ATC verdicts targeting PTI leadership over the May 9 riots—widespread protests marked by attacks on military and government installations across the country . Just weeks earlier, a special ATC in Faisalabad handed 10-year sentences to Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, and others, further deepening the legal crisis faced by the party .
The series of convictions has drawn fierce condemnation from PTI, whose leaders have argued that the verdicts are politically motivated and part of a broader campaign to stifle dissent and derail the party’s mobilization efforts .
