By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan's northeastern city of Lahore on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing four senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to 10 years imprisonment each in connection with the May 9, 2023, riots.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict inside a makeshift courtroom at Kot Lakhpat Jail, where the accused are currently detained, according to daily Dawn.

The case, registered at Mughalpura Police Station, related to the alleged attack and torching of police vehicles during the nationwide unrest that erupted following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.

Those convicted include Dr. Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, senior leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry. The court also sentenced several other PTI workers to 10 years each.

Qureshi was acquitted alongside 11 party workers due to insufficient evidence, according to court sources. A total of 22 PTI leaders and workers were nominated in the case, while two accused had previously been declared proclaimed offenders after evading arrest.

The prosecution presented 37 witnesses and argued that the accused had planned the May 9 incidents and incited workers to engage in acts of violence.

The May 9, 2023 riots erupted when PTI supporters protested the arrest of party founder Imran Khan by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The protests quickly turned violent across the country, with demonstrators attacking military installations, including the Lahore corps commander's residence (Jinnah House) and the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including PTI leaders and workers, were arrested and faced multiple cases under anti-terrorism laws. Saturday's verdict is the latest in a series of rulings. In December 2025, the same ATC acquitted Qureshi while sentencing the same four leaders to 10 years in a case related to an attack on a government residence in Lahore. Other verdicts have been delivered in cases involving attacks on police stations and violence at various locations.

Rights organizations have previously condemned the mass sentencing and use of anti-terror laws to try civilians, characterizing the proceedings as politically motivated.