LAHORE: In another case related to the May 9 riots, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister and PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing senior party leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10 years’ imprisonment each.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict, which had been reserved on Thursday.

The leaders were accused of attacking and burning police vehicles in Lahore’s Mughalpura area during the 2023 riots. A case was registered against them at the Mughalpura police station.

The suspects were presented before the makeshift court established inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. Besides PTI Mr Qureshi, the court also acquitted 11 party activists.

Lahore ATC convicts Yasmin Rashid, Sarfraz Cheema, Mehmoodur Rasheed and Ejaz Chaudhry in May 9 case

A total of 22 PTI leaders and workers were nominated in the case, while two accused had been declared proclaimed offenders after allegedly evading arrest.

However, a few other workers were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment each.

The prosecution alleged that the PTI leaders and other accused persons had planned the May 9 incidents and incited workers to engage in riots and acts of violence.

The prosecution presented 37 witnesses against the accused and urged the court to convict them in accordance with the law.

‘No bail for Qureshi’

Barrister Taimur Malik, counsel for Mr Qureshi, said that despite securing acquittals and bail in around 50 cases across Punjab and Islamabad over the past three years, his client remained incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat Jail because two pending bail applications had yet to be decided.

He added that the case for bail was compelling on multiple grounds, as Mr Qureshi had already been acquitted in several cases involving similar allegations and granted bail in other comparable matters.

He regretted that prolonged delays in deciding bail applications undermined the very purpose of bail jurisprudence.

The May 9, 2023, riots erupted after PTI supporters protested against 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.

Workers and supporters staged violent protests across 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.

So far, verdicts in seven other May 9 cases have been announced, with Dr Rashid, Mr Cheema, Mr Rasheed and Mr Chaudhry receiving sentences in multiple cases.

In December 2025, Judge Gill’s ATC acquitted Mr Qureshi while sentencing the other four leaders to 10 years’ imprisonment in a case relating to an attack on the entrance gate of Government Officers’ Residence-I at Club Chowk.

Other verdicts were delivered in cases related to an attack on the Shadman police station, violence at Sherpao Bridge, the burning of police vehicles near Rahat Bakery, and the torching of a Supreme Court judge’s squad vehicle near Jinnah House during the May 9 protests.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2026