Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with the May 9 case.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sargodha announced a brief verdict, sentencing 70 accused from Sargodha. None of the accused, including Ahmad Khan Bhachar, were present in court at the time of the ruling.
Another provincial lawmaker of PTI, Ahmad Chattha, was among the party workers — all handed 10-year jail term.
In the Mianwali riots and vandalism case, the court had previously granted exemption from appearance to 32 accused individuals, including Ahmad Khan Bhachar.
Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted four PTI members, who were previously convicted for attacking Islamabad’s Ramna police station during the May 9 riots.
The acquitted individuals – Mira Khan, Muhammad Akram, Shahzeb, and Sohail Khan – had been handed multiple sentences by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in May this year.
The riots erupted on May 9, 2023 following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan, leading to violent protests across the country.
The ATC had convicted several PTI supporters under numerous sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, imposing sentences ranging from a few months to 10 years.
The charges included rioting, arson, attempted murder, mischief, and obstructing public servants.
However, a two-member IHC bench comprising Justice Azam Khan and Justice Khadim Soomro ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the presence of the four accused at the crime scene.
Last month, Imran Khan – the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) – was acquitted last month by a district and sessions court in two cases related to the May 9 riots.
Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir delivered the verdict, which had been previously reserved, on Khan’s acquittal pleas challenging the cases filed against him at the Shehzad Town police station.
The court acquitted the PTI founder due to a lack of evidence.
Lawyers Mirza Asim Baig and Naeem Panjotha had represented the PTI founder in the two cases.