Top Pakistan opposition leaders sentenced to 10 years over May 9 riots

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced on Thursday top parliamentary leaders from the opposition party led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to 10 years in prison for their involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots.

Among those convicted are National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, and former federal minister Zartaj Gul. In total, 108 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers were handed identical 10-year prison terms in the case.

The verdict, announced by the anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, comes just days ahead of a planned nationwide protest by PTI on August 5 - the date marking the two-year anniversary of Khan’s imprisonment. The May 9 riots, triggered by his arrest, are widely seen as a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s ongoing political crisis.

Convicted PTI leaders:

Sitting parliamentarians:

• Senator Shibli Faraz
• MNA Omar Ayub Khan
• MNA Zartaj Gul
• MNA Rai Hassan Nawaz
• MNA Muhammad Ahmed Chatha
• MPA Ansar Iqbal
• MPA Rai Murtaza Iqbal
• MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi (received a 3-year sentence)
• MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza

Former parliamentarians:

• Firdous Rana
• Farha Agha
• Kanwal Shozab (former MNA)
• Sheikh Rashid Shafique (former MNA)
• Bilal Ejaz (former MNA)
• Adv. Sardar Azeem Ullah (former MPA)
• Chaudhry Asif, son of Muhammad Ali (former MNA)
• Mehar Muhammad Javed (former MPA)
• Ashraf Khan Sohna (former MPA)
• Shakeel Khan Niazi (former MPA)

However, the court acquitted senior PTI figures Fawad Chaudhry, Zain Qureshi, and Khayal Ahmad Kastro.

PTI denounces ‘injustice, political victimization’

Reacting to the convictions, senior PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said several party parliamentarians, including Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, and Omar Ayub, have been ‘unfairly sentenced’. He stressed that PTI consistently worked to strengthen parliamentary democracy and urged the chief justice to ensure verdicts are delivered in the spirit of justice.

Gohar added that despite the PTI’s continued engagement in the democratic process, including attending parliament and avoiding disruptive protests, the party continues to face ‘political persecution and unjust treatment’.

Several PTI leaders booked

A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for 50 senior leaders of the party, including former president Arif Alvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. The warrants relate to violent protests in November 2024 over alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, arrests of party activists, and the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment.

Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain issued the warrants after the accused failed to appear in a hearing. Nine leaders were already facing warrants; 41 more were added on Thursday, intensifying legal pressure on the party.

The list includes former ministers Hammad Azhar, Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, Asad Qaiser, Atif Khan, and Omar Ayub; Senator Faisal Javed Khan; legal expert Salman Akram Raja; and PTI spokesperson Shaukat Basra. Also named are Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, legal adviser Shoaib Shaheen, and political aides Kanwal Shauzab, Shandana Gulzar, and Sher Afzal Marwat.

What happened on May 9, 2023?

The violence erupted nationwide after Imran Khan’s arrest on corruption charges, with protesters attacking military installations, setting government buildings ablaze, and clashing with security forces.

The Pakistani government described the violence as a "coordinated attack on state institutions," rejecting PTI’s narrative that the protests were spontaneous political demonstrations. In the aftermath, authorities launched a widespread crackdown on PTI, arresting and prosecuting much of its senior leadership.

The courts have found multiple PTI leaders guilty of orchestrating violent attacks on public and military infrastructure during the 2023 protests that followed Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest.

Earlier on July 21, a separate anti-terrorism court in Sargodha, Punjab, sentenced several opposition workers, including Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, to 10 years in prison for their role in the same May 9 riots.

With additional reporting by Asma Kundi