logo
Pakistan Courts Sentence Dozens From Imran Khan's Party

Pakistan Courts Sentence Dozens From Imran Khan's Party

NDTV23-07-2025
Islamabad:
A Pakistani opposition leader was among more than three dozen members and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan's party sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday, the government said.
The sentences were handed down by anti-terrorism courts in the eastern cities of Lahore and Sargodha after dozens were found guilty of involvement in anti-government riots when Khan was first arrested.
"Punjab Assembly's Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Bhachar has been awarded a 10-year sentence," deputy minister of law Aqeel Malik said in a press conference.
Bhachar helms the opposition in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and politically influential province. Following Tuesday's verdict, he pledged on social media "not to abandon" support for Khan.
A spokesman for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party told AFP that Bhachar was not arrested until Tuesday evening.
In addition to Bhachar, a court in Sargodha also sentenced a sitting lawmaker, a former parliamentarian and 32 other supporters of PTI to 10 years each for attacking government buildings, Malik said.
Separately, a court in Lahore sentenced eight PTI members to 10 years in prison each for their involvement in riots in that city.
Those sentenced include former governor of Punjab province Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former provincial minister Yasmin Rashid, and Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary, a sitting senator.
However, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was acquitted along with five others.
Khan, in office from 2018 to 2022, was initially arrested in May 2023, sparking nationwide unrest, some of which targeted military facilities.
Tuesday's sentences were handed down for attacks on police and civilian installations in Khan's home constituencies of Mianwali city and Lahore. Those accused of targeting military installations are facing separate trials in military courts.
PTI has vowed to challenge the verdicts in higher courts.
The prosecutions "expose a disturbing pattern of procedural impropriety, selective justice, and constitutional violations," said Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for PTI.
He called the trials "political spectacles... that are being rushed through at breakneck speed — day-to-day hearings, even late-night sessions till 10:40 PM on a Saturday."
Khan has been jailed since August 2023 on a slew of corruption charges his party says are politically motivated.
His supporters and senior party leaders have also faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up and Khan's name censored from television.
Last year, a UN panel of experts found that Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him" from contesting elections.
Khan's popularity continues to undermine a shaky coalition government that kept PTI from power after the polls last year.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Assam begins drive to raze over 2.6K encroachments
Assam begins drive to raze over 2.6K encroachments

Hindustan Times

time6 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Assam begins drive to raze over 2.6K encroachments

The Assam government on Tuesday launched a massive eviction drive in the Rengma forest area of Golaghat district bordering Nagaland to demolish over 2,600 alleged encroachments spread over 1,500 hectares of forest land, officials aware of the matter said. The move is set to affect at least 3,000 to 4,000 families. Assam begins drive to raze over 2.6K encroachments According to forest officials, a total of 2,648 illegal houses, spread across 12 villages within the reserve forest area, have been marked for eviction. 'On the first day, over 4.2 hectares of the encroached land, which included 50 concrete residential structures and nearly 200 small and medium-sized business establishments, was cleared,' an official said. The drive is being carried out in Sonaribil, Pithaghat, Dayalpur, Dalanpathar, Kherbari, Vidyapur, Vidyapur Bazaar, Madhupur, Anandpur, Rajapukhuri, and Gelajan localities — all Muslim dominated. According to the Golaghat district administration officials, over 2,000 Assam Police personnel, including battalions from different districts, along with 500 forest guards, have been deployed to maintain law and order during the eviction process. 'This is part of a series of eviction drives. In the past, we have faced challenges, including attacks on government officials,' chief forest conservator MK Yadava said. This is the third large-scale eviction drive in Assam since July 8. The first two were conducted in Dhubri and Goalpara, where over 2,000 allegedly illegally constructed houses were demolished. While the earlier phases witnessed protests from locals, no major protest has yet been reported in Uriamghat. A local resident said his family settled in the area in 1974. 'We have documents like Voter ID and Aadhaar. We have lived here for decades and faced attacks from tribal groups. But now the government is demolishing our houses. We have nowhere to go.' Another resident, Ali Kazi, told PTI: 'Where will we go from here? My father had come from Nagaon district around 40 years ago, but I was born here. We were brought here during the 1980s to protect the forest land from encroachment from Nagaland.'

Three Salman Khan fans run away from Delhi to meet superstar; found safe in Nashik after MISSING for 4 days: Deets Inside
Three Salman Khan fans run away from Delhi to meet superstar; found safe in Nashik after MISSING for 4 days: Deets Inside

Time of India

time33 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Three Salman Khan fans run away from Delhi to meet superstar; found safe in Nashik after MISSING for 4 days: Deets Inside

Salman Khan has always had an enormous fan base, with admirers of all ages looking up to him. But in a recent incident involving three minor boys from Delhi, who went missing on 25 July, all in hopes of meeting the Bollywood superstar. As reported by PTI, the three boys, aged 13, 11, and nine, are all students at the same school in the Sadar Bazar area of Delhi. Their sudden disappearance triggered a massive search operation by Delhi Police and their counterparts in Maharashtra. It all started with a gaming app friend According to the police, the boys had been chatting with a person named Wahid from Jalna in Maharashtra via an online gaming platform. Wahid had claimed that he had once met Salman Khan and could possibly arrange a meeting with the actor. Believing him, the boys hatched a plan to visit Jalna and then head to Mumbai to meet the superstar. They left their homes on 25 July without informing their families, which led to panic among their parents and a missing persons report being filed. Left a note behind During the early stages of investigation, police discovered a handwritten note at one of the boys' homes. The note clearly mentioned their intention to meet Wahid in Jalna. This became the first major lead in the case. Further investigation through CCTV footage revealed visuals of the boys near Ajmeri Gate, indicating that they might have travelled to New Delhi Railway Station to board a train. Based on train schedules and possible travel routes, police suspected that the boys had taken the Sachkhand Express, from Delhi to Maharashtra. Phone signal helps trace missing children When Wahid found out the police were involved and the boys' families were searching for them, he backed out of the meeting. The boys then dropped their plan to visit Jalna and got off the train in Nashik. Though Wahid couldn't be contacted, brief phone activity helped police trace the boys. Delhi Police reportedly joined hands with Railway Police and Maharashtra police to search multiple locations. Finally, on Tuesday, four days after they went missing, the boys were found safe at a railway station in Nashik. Safe return for the young Salman Khan fans Thankfully, all three minors were safe and unharmed when found. They were brought under police protection and arrangements were made to send them back to Delhi.

‘Mayawati was the best for farmers,' says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait
‘Mayawati was the best for farmers,' says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

The Print

time34 minutes ago

  • The Print

‘Mayawati was the best for farmers,' says BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

Sultanpur (UP), Jul 29 (PTI) Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday supported the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, and called BSP chief Mayawati the 'number one chief minister' for farmers. Tikait, who was in Sultanpur to attend a private programme, said, 'Those who are from outside will have problems, those who are from there (Bihar) will have no problems.' On Yogi Adityanath's eight years as chief minister of the state, Tikait said, 'Mayawati was the number one Chief Minister for farmers… she did a better job for the sugarcane farmers.' The Election Commission of India on June 24 ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, with an aim to weed out fake names on the electoral rolls.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store