THE reason why it is so important for justice to be seen to be done is so that there are no questions left in the minds of the public regarding the fairness and impartiality of a trial. This is particularly pertinent in the myriad cases against the PTI’s senior leadership.

In most of these cases, justice has hardly been seen to be done because trials have been conducted with minimal transparency, with most proceedings held without neutral observers present to document arguments between the prosecutors and the accused.

Access to these proceedings for independent media has been poor and the public has not been able to meaningfully scrutinise the reasoning, evidence and legal thresholds applied in the cases against prominent public leaders. Instead, these cases have been tried in parallel in the national media, where government spokespersons have presented one version of events, and the defendants’ lawyers, a completely different one.

With trust in the judiciary wearing thin, it has been very difficult to weigh the merits of the various judgements passed against PTI leaders.

Another batch of such judgements landed this Friday and Saturday, in which almost the entirety of the party’s senior leadership was once again handed convictions, in separate cases, on charges ranging from terrorism to bribery and corruption.

PTI leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry each received 10-year sentences in two separate May 9 cases, one decided on Friday and the other on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, party chief Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, were handed sentences of 17 years each for paying too little to keep a jewellery set gifted by an Arab royal.

All of these individuals now have a considerable record, yet the public has little insight into the reasoning by which their guilt was established.

Indeed, the way another PTI leader continues to be treated despite being exonerated in multiple cases raises further questions about what the convictions represent.

The counsel representing Shah Mahmood Qureshi have wondered when he will be granted bail, even though he has not been convicted in any case so far. Officially, he remains incarcerated pending court decisions on bail appeals in at least three other cases; however, given the consistent lack of evidence against him so far, it seems as if the reason for keeping him jailed has less to do with his alleged misdemeanours and more to do with his political affiliation.

This weakens the government’s narrative that it is merely bringing wrongdoers to book, and paints it, instead, as a hostile party that is punishing the political opposition, even when there are apparently few legal grounds to do so. It also undermines the judgements that continue to be handed down.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025