{"id":127996,"date":"2026-06-20T17:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=127996"},"modified":"2026-06-20T17:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:23:19","slug":"may-9-riots-lahore-atc-acquits-shah-mahmood-qureshi-sentences-4-leaders-others-to-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/127996\/","title":{"rendered":"May 9 riots: Lahore ATC acquits Shah Mahmood Qureshi, sentences 4 leaders, others to 10 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LAHORE(National Times)- In another case of\u00a0May 9 riots<\/a>, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing senior PTI leaders\u00a0Dr Yasmin Rashid<\/a>, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10-year imprisonment each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict<\/a>, which was reserved on Thursday. In the case registered at Mughalpura Police Station, the leaders were accused of attacking and burning police vehicles<\/a> in the Mughalpura area during the 2023 riots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suspects were presented in the makeshift court established inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. Besides Qureshi, the court also acquitted 11 party workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 22 PTI leaders and workers were nominated in the case, while two accused had been declared proclaimed offenders after allegedly evading arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a few other workers were sentenced to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution alleged that the PTI leaders and other accused persons had planned the May 9 incidents and incited workers to engage in riots and acts of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution presented 37 witnesses against the accused and urged the court to convict them under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The May 9, 2023 riots had erupted as PTI supporters<\/a> protested the arrest of party founder Imran Khan<\/a> by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workers and supporters staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking<\/u><\/a> the Lahore corps commander\u2019s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, verdicts in seven other May 9 cases have been announced, with Rashid, Cheema, Rasheed and Chaudhry being sentenced in multiple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2025<\/a>, Judge Gill\u2019s ATC acquitted Qureshi while sentencing the other four to 10 years in a case over an attack on the entrance gate of Government Officers\u2019 Residence-I, Club Chowk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other verdicts<\/a> were delivered in cases related to an attack<\/u><\/a> on the Shadman police station, violence<\/u><\/a> at Sherpao Bridge, the burning of police vehicles near Rahat Bakery, and the torching<\/u><\/a> of a Supreme Court judge\u2019s squad vehicle near Jinnah House during the May 9 protests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAHORE(National Times)- In another case of\u00a0May 9 riots, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing senior PTI leaders\u00a0Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10-year imprisonment each. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict, which was reserved on Thursday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nMay 9 riots: Lahore ATC acquits Shah Mahmood Qureshi, sentences 4 leaders, others to 10 years - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/127996\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"May 9 riots: Lahore ATC acquits Shah Mahmood Qureshi, sentences 4 leaders, others to 10 years - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LAHORE(National Times)- In another case of\u00a0May 9 riots, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing senior PTI leaders\u00a0Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10-year imprisonment each. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict, which was reserved on Thursday. 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