ATC sentences Yasmin Rashid, other PTI leaders to 10 years in May 9 GOR gate case; Shah Mehmood acquitted
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday sentenced senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Yasmin Rashid and several other party figures to 10 years’ imprisonment each in a case linked to the May 9, 2023 violence in Lahore, while acquitting former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and 13 other accused.
The verdict was announced by ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. Those sentenced include Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry, along with three other party workers. The court noted that four accused in the case had earlier been declared proclaimed offenders.
The case was registered by the Race Course Police Station and relates to an attack on the GOR-1 gate near Club Chowk during the May 9 unrest. According to the first information report (FIR), the accused were involved in vandalising government property, damaging security cameras and police wireless equipment, breaking glass panels at the GOR gate and assaulting police personnel deployed at the site.
During the trial, final statements of 21 accused were recorded, while the prosecution produced 56 witnesses in support of its case. Prosecutors alleged that the violence was carried out by a mob led by PTI leader Hammad Azhar and that senior party figures incited workers to engage in rioting, arson and vandalism.
The court ensured the presence of both detained accused and those on bail before announcing the verdict. Lawyers for the defence maintained that the charges were politically motivated and argued that the prosecution failed to establish direct involvement of the accused in acts of violence.
This verdict marks the fifth conviction in May 9-related cases for Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry. In contrast, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was acquitted in the case concerning the GOR-1 gate attack due to lack of evidence.
The May 9 incidents, which erupted after the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan, resulted in widespread violence across the country, leading to multiple cases against PTI leaders and workers under anti-terrorism laws.
