Lahore, July 31 — In a sweeping verdict that has sent political shockwaves through Pakistan, a court in Faisalabad on Thursday sentenced 166 members of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party — including several top opposition lawmakers — to 10 years in prison each for their alleged roles in the violent May 9, 2023, attacks on military installations, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) building in Faisalabad.
The verdict by the Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) comes just days ahead of the PTI’s planned “Free Imran Khan Movement,” set to launch nationwide on August 5. The party has strongly condemned the court’s decision, calling it politically motivated and part of a broader attempt to dismantle the party’s parliamentary presence.
Among those sentenced are high-profile figures such as Omar Ayub, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly; Shibli Faraz, Opposition Leader in the Senate; and senior party leaders Zartaj Gul and Sahibzada Hamid Raza. The court also convicted six sitting members of the National Assembly, one Punjab Assembly lawmaker, and one senator. In total, 14 PTI legislators have now been disqualified and sentenced in connection with the May 9 unrest.
The court convicted 108 of the 185 accused in the ISI building case, acquitting the remaining 77. Separately, in a related case involving an attack on a police station, 58 individuals were handed identical 10-year terms.
PTI’s interim chairman, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, confirmed the party will appeal the verdict in the Lahore High Court, stating, “These convictions are based solely on police testimonies and aim to eliminate opposition voices from both Parliament and Senate.”
The mass sentencing follows a pattern of judicial actions targeting PTI leaders since the May 9 protests, which erupted after Khan’s arrest. Demonstrators attacked several military and police facilities, including Lahore’s Jinnah House, Mianwali Airbase, and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The riots led to the arrest of around 10,000 PTI workers and supporters.
Many, including Khan’s nephew Hassan Khan, were transferred to military custody. Hassan was later sentenced to 10 years in prison by a military court.
Imran Khan, ousted in April 2022 and jailed since August 2023, remains the central figure in Pakistan’s deeply polarized politics. His sister, Aleema Khan, recently revealed that Khan’s sons, Suleman and Kasim, may return to Pakistan to join the upcoming protest movement.
The Punjab government has warned they will be dealt with “strictly” if they take part in any “violent unrest.”
