Pakistan: 47 leaders, supporters of Imran Khan’s party handed 10 years’ jail for 2023 violence
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An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi on Saturday sentenced 47 leaders and supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to 10 years’ imprisonment in connection with violence during the May 9, 2023 protests that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
The court also imposed a fine of 5 lakh Pakistani rupees on each convict and ordered that their properties be confiscated.
“The charges of arson, vandalism, attacks on police officials and damage to government property were proven against the accused,” District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah said, according to Dawn.
Those sentenced include prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf figures such as Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Murad Saeed, Zartaj Gul, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Sheikh Rashid Shafique, Muhammad Ahmad Chattha and Rai Hassan Nawaz, PTI reported.
The court noted that as the 47 individuals had remained absent from proceedings for nearly two years, they were tried separately under provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act that allow proceedings against absconding suspects, the news agency reported.
The court directed the law enforcement authorities to arrest the convicted individuals and send them to jail once they appear or are apprehended. It also said the absconding convicts could seek a retrial if they surrender before the court within a stipulated period, Dawn reported.
In total, 118 persons...