RAWALPINDI (Kashmir English): Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Murad Saeed, and Shibli Faraz are among 47 accused sent to the ten year of improsment in the GHQ Rawalpindi attack case.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Rawalpindi Judge Amjad Ali Shah issued the verdict on Saturday, handing down 10-year prison sentences and fines of Rs 500,000 on each of the 47 convicts. The court has also ordered the confiscation of the properties of the accused.
The accused also include PTI leaders, Shibli Faraz, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shozab, and Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Shehbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Muhammad Ahmed Chatha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Rai Muhammad Murtaza. Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra, and Ijaz Khan Jazi are also among the accused.
Special Prosecutor Zaheer Shah prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
The verdict stated that all the accused have been found involved in the conspiracy of the attacking public spaces and military installations on May 9, 2023.
The JIT report has declared the accused involved in planning violent protests, the verdict said, adding that the accused were found involved in attacks on GHQ Gate, Hamza Camp, Army Museum, and Sixth Road Metro Station.
The court verdict further added that the JIT has declared the convicted accused as the main accused in planning the May 9 incidents.
The convicts are accused of encroachment, vandalism, attacks on police, and damage to government property, it said. “118 accused, including the founder of PTI and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, were indicted in the case in December 2024.”
The court noted that statements of 44 prosecution witnesses have been recorded in the case so far. Among the 118 accused, 18 remained continuously absent during the trial, while 29 never appeared in court after the case was registered.
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