An Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad has sentenced Muhammad Sikander, the main accused in the 2013 Islamabad standoff, to 16 years in prison and handed him a hefty on Thursday.

Sikander, who held his family members hostage in Islamabad's Blue Area, was fined Rs110,000 by the court.

Failure to pay the amount will result in an additional six months added to his prison sentence.

On August 15, 2013, the armed man opened fire in the heavily policed heart of Islamabad after slipping past the capital's many checkpoints. He was later shot and seriously wounded by police during a dramatic standoff.

The armed man, who was with his wife and children in a car as he issued demands for the imposition of Islamic law, was said by doctors to be fighting for his life after the five-hour incident.

The incident started when Sikandar started firing into the air in the central Jinnah Avenue neighbourhood — less than a kilometre from the presidency and parliament buildings — after being stopped for a traffic violation, police said, according to a report published by AFP.

An AFP photographer at the scene said the man was holding a submachine gun and a Kalashnikov.

The stand-off came to a head when politician Zamarud Khan, a leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who was acting as a negotiator, jumped on Sikandar and tried to disarm him.

Sikandar broke free and fired at Khan, who was not injured, live footage on Geo TV showed. The woman and children were standing nearby.

Police and paramilitary forces shot Sikandar, who fell to the ground and was carried away by police and paramilitary officers.

Television footage showed the young boy trying to rush over to his father after he was shot, but Khan held him back.

The drama was broadcast live by at least three private television channels, with TV anchors questioning how police and other law enforcement agencies failed to check an armed man who drove into an area so close to the presidency and parliament house.