ISLAMABAD (BN24) — More than 100 members of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party have been sentenced to prison by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for their roles in the violent 2023 riots that targeted military installations across the country, according to a court order released Thursday.
In what marks one of the largest mass convictions in recent Pakistani history, the court handed down 10-year prison sentences to 58 of the accused, including prominent parliamentarians and senior officials of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from one to three years. The court declared that prosecutors had proven their case “without a shadow of doubt.”
Among those convicted are Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz, who serve as PTI’s leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively. A total of 77 other individuals were acquitted due to lack of evidence, the court said, in connection to an attack on the intelligence agency office in Faisalabad during the May 2023 unrest.
The violent protests erupted on May 9, 2023, after Imran Khan was arrested on corruption and national security-related charges. Demonstrators stormed military and government facilities, including the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi. The government accused Khan and top party leaders of orchestrating the attacks. Khan, who remains in prison facing a litany of separate charges, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says the legal campaign against him is politically motivated. The Pakistani military, widely seen as the country’s most powerful institution, has rejected claims of orchestrating a crackdown on the former prime minister’s party.
Thursday’s sentencing does not directly impact Khan’s own incitement case, in which prosecution is still presenting witnesses. However, the ruling is a major blow to PTI, with party leaders confirming that at least 14 of their lawmakers are among those convicted. Under Pakistani law, convicted lawmakers will lose their parliamentary seats, further weakening the party’s presence in the legislature.
The PTI party announced plans to appeal the ruling and has vowed to launch new nationwide protests beginning August 5, marking the second anniversary of Khan’s imprisonment. The party insists that Khan’s incarceration is unjust and has called for immediate elections and his release.
The ruling is the third such mass conviction involving PTI supporters this month, reflecting the intensified judicial and political campaign against Khan’s party ahead of the next general election.
