An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Friday sentenced PTI members, including Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Latif, to 27 years of imprisonment for attacking a police station during the violent May 9 riots.
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting the party founder Imran Khan’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested.
ATC Special Court-II judge Tahir Abbas Sipra handed down the punishment under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code after finding the accused guilty of attacking the Ramna police station during the May 9 riots.
The accused were sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison along with a fine worth Rs327,000. The sentences shall run concurrently, the judge said.
MNA Abdul Latif, who was elected from NA-1 Chitral, was not present in the court when the verdict was announced. The lawmaker will be disqualified for five years after the conviction.
The judge told the accused that 20 witnesses, including magistrates recorded their testimonies against them, noting that protests should be held peacefully and participants should never take the law into their own hands.
“You are accused of attacking the Ramna Police Station in Islamabad. If you attack your own police stations, the country will no longer be livable,” the judge remarked.
A case had been registered against the accused in Ramna police station under various sections for offences including burning a motorcycle and attacking police personnel.
The eleven accused who were convicted were Zariyab Khan, Muhammad Akram, Meera Khan, Abdul Latif, Sameol Robert, Wazeerzada, Abdul Basit, Shan Ali, Shahzaib, Muhammad Yousaf, and Sohail Khan.
Following the verdict, the police took the four accused present in the court, namely Mira Khan, Muhammad Akram, Shahzeb, and Sohail Khan, into custody. The court also issued arrest warrants for other PTI supporters accused of involvement in the riots but was absent from the court.
The sentences ranged from ten years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000 for terrorism provisions under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, five years in prison and a fine of Rs50,000 for the murderous attack on policemen under Section Section 324 (attempted murder) of the PPC.
Additionally, the accused were sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs40,000 for burning a motorcycle under Section 426 (punishment for mischief); and a separate sentence of four years in prison and a fine of Rs40,000 under Section 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) for vandalising a police station.
A sentence of three-month imprisonment was imposed for interfering in the work of the police under Section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), one month for violating Section 144 (joining unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon), and two years for committing a crime in a group under Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of common object).
Prosecutor Raja Naveed conducted the testimony and cross-examination against the accused.
In December 2024, military courts had sentenced 85 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in violent attacks on military installations during the riots on May 9.
The military’s media wing said in a statement that the trials of those accused of the May 9 riots under military custody had been “concluded under the relevant laws”, and the “convicts retained the right to appeal and other legal recourses, as guaranteed by the Constitution and law”.
Imran’s nephew Hassan Khan Niazi, who was handed into military custody in August 2023, was among the two people sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The military’s press wing later announced that 19 civilians convicted for their involvement in the riots were granted pardon. It said the mercy petitions of 19 convicts were accepted on “humanitarian grounds”.
