RAWALPINDI (MNN); An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has sentenced 47 proclaimed offenders, including several senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to 10 years in prison in connection with the May 9 attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ).
The verdict was issued on Saturday by District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who presides over Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1. The judge issued a detailed 16-page judgment outlining the court’s findings.
Among those convicted are prominent PTI leaders Hammad Azhar, Omar Ayub Khan and Zartaj Gul. Other individuals sentenced in the case include Senator Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari and former members of the National Assembly Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Ahmed Chattha and Sheikh Rashid Shafique.
The court imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on each convict and also ordered the confiscation of their properties in favour of the state.
The case relates to the violent incidents that erupted across Pakistan on May 9, 2023, following the arrest of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan. The arrest triggered widespread protests during which government buildings and military installations were attacked and vandalised, including the GHQ in Rawalpindi.
According to the court’s judgment, the Joint Investigation Team report found that the accused had been involved in planning and organising the violent protests. The verdict stated that attackers targeted several locations, including GHQ Gate No. 1, Hamza Camp, the Army Museum and the Sixth Road Metro Station.
The court observed that the charges of arson, vandalism, assault on police officials and destruction of government property had been proven against the accused.
In total, 118 individuals, including Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were indicted in the case. The court has so far recorded statements from 44 prosecution witnesses.
According to the judgment, 18 of the accused remained continuously absent during the trial while 29 others never appeared before the court after the case was registered. As a result, a separate trial was conducted against 47 proclaimed offenders under Section 21L of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, which deals with punishment for absconders.
Imran Khan was indicted in the case on December 5, 2024. He has been in jail since August 5, 2023, and was formally arrested by Rawalpindi police in the GHQ attack case in January 2024.
The court directed authorities to issue conviction warrants and send them to Rawalpindi Central Jail as well as the RA Bazar police station. It ordered that whenever the accused are arrested or voluntarily appear before the court, they should be immediately sent to jail. Perpetual non-bailable arrest warrants have also been issued.
Earlier this year, the prosecution requested the court to initiate proceedings against the absconding accused. Following a judicial inquiry, all 47 individuals were declared deliberate absconders.
A public notice was published in the national daily Nawa-i-Waqt on January 8, giving the accused seven days to surrender before the court. However, none appeared.
The court appointed senior lawyer Chaudhary Muhammad Masood Amin as state counsel to represent the absconding accused. During the trial, the prosecution recorded statements from 19 witnesses, while the state-appointed counsel cross-examined them.
The court clarified that the convicted individuals have the right to seek a retrial under Section 19(12) of the Anti-Terrorism Act if they surrender within two months or later if they provide valid reasons for their absence.
The judgment also noted that some of the accused had previously attended earlier proceedings and were fully aware of the trial, while others deliberately avoided appearing in court. It added that prolonged absence from legal proceedings often creates an inference of guilt unless proven otherwise.
The case was registered at the RA Bazar police station after violent protests broke out following Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case. Protesters allegedly attacked GHQ Gate No. 1, damaged military installations and vandalised public property.
Meanwhile, the PTI strongly criticised the court’s decision, calling the verdict unjust and politically motivated.
In a statement, the party said that several leaders had been sentenced in absentia and described the decision as another example of political victimisation in Pakistan’s history.
The PTI maintained that such verdicts would not silence the voice of the people or halt the party’s democratic struggle. It announced that it would challenge the decision through all available constitutional and legal avenues.
The party also demanded an end to what it described as political vendetta, calling for the supremacy of the Constitution and the immediate release of political prisoners.
