Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul Among 196 Sentenced In May 9 Cases

In a major legal development, a special anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad has sentenced a total of 196 individuals, including prominent political leaders Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, and Zartaj Gul, in connection with the May 9 riots .

All three leaders were handed 10-year prison sentences, along with MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza, while Junaid Afzal Sahi received a lighter sentence of three years, the shortest among those convicted.

The court issued verdicts in three separate cases, all linked to the violent protests that erupted following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan on May 9, 2023.

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In the first two cases, 168 people were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the case related to the attack on a sensitive installation, 108 out of 185 accused were convicted, with the remaining acquitted.

In a separate case registered at Ghulam Muhammad Abad Police Station, the court convicted 60 out of 67 accused, acquitting seven. A third case, heard under the jurisdiction of the Civil Lines Police Station, saw 28 out of 32 accused sentenced to 10 years, while four were acquitted. The case originally named 107 individuals, though only 32 went to trial.

Among those acquitted were several well-known figures, including Fawad Chaudhry, Zain Qureshi (son of Shah Mehmood Qureshi), Khayal Castro, and Abdullah Damar.

These verdicts come days after similar rulings in Lahore, where senior PTI leaders Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Ahmad Chattha, and Ahmad Khan Bhachar were also sentenced to 10 years over their roles in the May 9 incidents.

With the total number of convicted individuals in just this set of Faisalabad cases reaching 196, the legal fallout from the May 9 events continues to deepen, marking one of the most extensive series of convictions in recent political history.

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