GUJRAT: An anti-terrorism court of Gujranwala awarded two life imprisonments and another 95-year jail term to the shooter who attacked former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and other party leaders during a protest rally at Wazirabad against the then PDM government in 2022.
Judge Naeem Saleem pronounced the landmark verdict on Saturday.
The attack on former prime minister Khan took place on Nov 2, 2022, in Wazirabad, near Gujrat, when he was leading an anti-government rally from Lahore to Rawalpindi. Mr Khan was on top of a truck when the gunman opened fire.
A PTI worker, Moazzam Cheema, was killed while at least 11 PTI leaders, including Mr Khan, MNA Ahmed Chatha, Senator Faisal Javed, were injured. Mr Khan had accused the then-PDM coalition government and some military officials of being behind the attack, which took place seven months after his government was toppled through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly.
Three men were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack — Naveed Araen, Tayyab Jahangir Butt and Waqas.
The ATC convicted Naveed Araen, while the other two suspects were acquitted for want of evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Naveed was awarded life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1 million under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which outlined punishments for acts of terror.
A separate 95-year jail term and Rs2.2m fine were awarded over other charges.
The lawyer for the convict, Advocate Mian Dawood, announced that the sentence would be challenged in the Lahore High Court, citing alleged irregularities in the prosecution’s arguments and evidence pertaining to the accused, Dawn.com reported.
The three suspects have been in custody since their arrest from the crime scene moments after the attack.
The shooter, Naveed, was overpowered by a local PTI worker while firing at Mr Khan’s truck.
The three men were booked by the Wazirabad police under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempt to commit murder) and 440 (mischief after causing death or hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act.
Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025
