Pakistan jails opposition leader and other senior figures from Imran Khan's party on ‘terrorism' charges
Those sentenced on Thursday – and therefore immediately disqualified from serving in parliament – include the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan.
A total of 108 officials from Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were jailed by an anti- terrorism court in Pakistan 's Faisalabad city. Other prominent figures who were sentenced include Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza and Zartaj Gul according to Pakistan 's leading daily newspaper Dawn.
The case relates to the unrest that gripped Pakistan on 9 May 2023 when supporters and workers from PTI staged major protests over Mr Khan's arrest on corruption charges. The demonstrations ultimately descended into violent riots where military infrastructure and other state-owned buildings were vandalised. At least 10 people died in the capital Islamabad and in the aftermath around 4,000 people were arrested.
Mr Khan's supporters, who accused the country's powerful military of orchestrating his 2022 ousting as prime minister through a no confidence vote, targeted an airbase, multiple cantonments, the residence of a senior general, and the army headquarters.
Thursday's verdict by the anti-terrorism court is the latest in a wave of prosecutions targeting PTI members and the party's most senior leadership. Mr Khan himself has remained in jail for almost two years.
Thursday's verdict came a week after the same court convicted and sentenced eight PTI members, including officials from the party's previous provincial government in Punjab such as Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mehmoodur Rashid and Umar Sarfraz Cheema, to 10 years in jail.
Mr Khan faces a separate trial on similar charges, with prosecutors accusing him and fellow PTI party leaders of instigating the unrest that saw protesters attack government and military sites.
In a statement on the latest convictions, PTI said that it was a 'sad day for democracy', stating that the party's leaders have been 'unjustly targeted in the false flag operation of 9 May'.
As a result, PTI said, the sentenced opposition leaders in both houses of the National Assembly stood disqualified, 'paving way for more members in both houses using precipitous measures to have members elected, from the government side'.
'All this in the name of 9 May incident, based on testimony from the police officers who had supposedly hid under the table, with a disguise, heard the former prime minister Imran Khan, plotting a scheme to incite violence once he's arrested,' the statement read.
Mr Khan, 72, was bailed later in 2023 but then rearrested on 5 August that year. He faces around 150 charges, ranging from corruption to terrorism, some of the most serious of which have already been thrown out by the courts. His party claims all the cases filed against him are politically motivated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
16 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Hundreds of children from Gaza to be brought to UK for medical treatment
The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Sir Keir Starmer said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.' The UK and Jordan have been working together to air drop aid amid warnings of widespread malnourishment in Gaza. It comes as the UK seeks to put pressure on Israel to change course with a plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September ahead of the UN General Assembly. Sir Keir has said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. Concerns have been raised this could see a Palestinian state recognised by the UK without Hamas releasing the remaining Israeli hostages. British families of hostages say the Government has made clear to them that releases would 'play no part' in the UK's plans to recognise Palestine and that it could see those still held 'rot in Hamas dungeons'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's demands for Hamas to release all hostages and play no role in the future of Gaza are 'absolute and unconditional'. He told The Sunday Times: 'The UK position on recognition is part of (a) co-ordinated international effort. It must begin with an immediate ceasefire that frees the hostages and ends the agony of their families, and which lifts the inhumane aid restrictions.'
South Wales Argus
29 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Hundreds of children from Gaza to be brought to UK for medical treatment
The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer making a statement in Downing Street following a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza (Toby Melville/PA) Sir Keir Starmer said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.' The UK and Jordan have been working together to air drop aid amid warnings of widespread malnourishment in Gaza. It comes as the UK seeks to put pressure on Israel to change course with a plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September ahead of the UN General Assembly. Sir Keir has said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. Concerns have been raised this could see a Palestinian state recognised by the UK without Hamas releasing the remaining Israeli hostages. British families of hostages say the Government has made clear to them that releases would 'play no part' in the UK's plans to recognise Palestine and that it could see those still held 'rot in Hamas dungeons'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's demands for Hamas to release all hostages and play no role in the future of Gaza are 'absolute and unconditional'. He told The Sunday Times: 'The UK position on recognition is part of (a) co-ordinated international effort. It must begin with an immediate ceasefire that frees the hostages and ends the agony of their families, and which lifts the inhumane aid restrictions.'
Western Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Hundreds of children from Gaza to be brought to UK for medical treatment
The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer making a statement in Downing Street following a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza (Toby Melville/PA) Sir Keir Starmer said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.' The UK and Jordan have been working together to air drop aid amid warnings of widespread malnourishment in Gaza. It comes as the UK seeks to put pressure on Israel to change course with a plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September ahead of the UN General Assembly. Sir Keir has said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. Concerns have been raised this could see a Palestinian state recognised by the UK without Hamas releasing the remaining Israeli hostages. British families of hostages say the Government has made clear to them that releases would 'play no part' in the UK's plans to recognise Palestine and that it could see those still held 'rot in Hamas dungeons'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's demands for Hamas to release all hostages and play no role in the future of Gaza are 'absolute and unconditional'. He told The Sunday Times: 'The UK position on recognition is part of (a) co-ordinated international effort. It must begin with an immediate ceasefire that frees the hostages and ends the agony of their families, and which lifts the inhumane aid restrictions.'
