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• Orders SIC chief to serve 10-year prison term in May 9 riots case
• Islamabad police briefly detained the ex-MNA at G-14 checkpoint before handing him over to Faisalabad police
• PHC earlier rejected his plea for transit bail in the same case
• Family plans to approach LHC for stay order and appeal against conviction
FAISALABAD: Faisalabad District and Sessions Judge Waseem Mubarik, acting as anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge, on Friday sent Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza to the Central Jail Faisalabad to serve a 10-year sentence in a case pertaining to the attack on an intelligence agency’s office during May 9 riots.
Earlier, Islamabad police briefly had detained the SIC before handing him over to the Faisalabad police for further legal action.
The case had been registered against the SIC chief and several others by the Civil Lines Police, Faisalabad, for attacking the agency’s office during the unrest.
Speaking to the media outside the court, Sahibzada Hasan Raza, the brother of the SIC head, said that Mr Hamid was arrested by Islamabad police at a checkpoint on the Islamabad Bypass late Thursday night while travelling from Peshawar to Faisalabad to surrender himself in connection with the sentence awarded by the ATC.
He said that Faisalabad’s Civil Lines Police had brought Mr Raza from Islamabad to Faisalabad and produced him before the ATC, which confirmed his conviction in the case registered under FIR No. 832/23 at Civil Lines Police Station. The court, presided over by then ATC Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh, had sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
It may be mentioned that two days earlier, the Peshawar High Court had rejected Mr Raza’s plea seeking transit bail in connection with his conviction in the May 9 riots case.
Following his conviction by the Faisalabad ATC, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him and declared his NA-104 seat vacant. A by-election for the seat is scheduled to be held on Nov 23.
Mr Raza said that the family intended to move the LHC to seek a stay order against the upcoming by-election for the vacated seat and also file an appeal before the LHC challenging the ATC’s verdict that awarded Mr Raza 10-year imprisonment.
SIC chief detained
Earlier, the capital police briefly detained Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Hamid Raza before handing him over to the Faisalabad police for further legal action in connection with the 10-year imprisonment awarded to him by a court of law.
A senior police officer told Dawn that a police team intercepted a vehicle at an entry checkpoint set up at G-14 during the early hours of
Friday. The police officials found and recognised SIC chief Hamid Raza sitting in the vehicle along with a couple of people.
Senior police officials were immediately informed about Mr Raza’s presence at the checkpoint. Following their directions, the occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody and shifted to a police station where they were briefly detained.
The capital police also informed their counterparts in Faisalabad about Mr Raza’s detention. In response, a Faisalabad police team arrived in Islamabad and Mr Raza was handed over to them.
The Faisalabad police later left Islamabad before sunrise.
Munawer Azeem in Islamabad also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2025
