May 9 Riots: Qureshi Acquitted, Four PTI Leaders Get 10 Years

First Published 1 day ago
🔴 Live Update 18 hours ago5 Updates by 4 sources

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in another case related to the May 9 riots, while sentencing four other senior PTI leaders—Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, and Ejaz Chaudhry—to 10 years imprisonment each.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict in a makeshift courtroom inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. The case, registered at Mughalpura Police Station, accused the leaders of attacking and burning police vehicles in the Mughalpura area during the widespread protests in 2023. The court also acquitted 11 party workers, while some others were handed 10-year sentences.

The prosecution had presented 37 witnesses, alleging that the PTI leaders had planned the incidents and incited workers to violence. This is the eighth verdict delivered in the 14 cases registered in Lahore concerning the May 9 riots, which erupted after the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan. Rashid, Cheema, Rasheed, and Chaudhry have already been sentenced in multiple other related cases.

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Updated: 9:26 AM PKT — June 21, 2026

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore has acquitted PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a case related to the May 9 violence, specifically concerning the torching of police vehicles in the Mughalpura area. The verdict was announced inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. During the trial, the prosecution had presented 37 witnesses against the accused.

Updated: 12:02 AM PKT — June 21, 2026

The anti-terrorism court announced its verdict a day after reserving it, following the conclusion of arguments where 37 prosecution witnesses recorded their statements. The case pertained to the burning of police vehicles in Lahore’s Mughalpura area during the May 9, 2023 riots.

While senior PTI leaders Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, and Ejaz Chaudhry were sentenced, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was acquitted. The court also declared two other accused, Arbaz Zaman and Elahi Bakhsh, as proclaimed offenders and ordered legal proceedings against them to continue.

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