Punjab opposition leader sentenced to 10 years in May 9 case
- By Abdul Hannan -
- Jul 22, 2025
SARGODHA: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Sargodha has sentenced Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar and 32 other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers to 10 years of imprisonment each in the May 9 riots case, ARY News reported.
As per details, the verdict was announced by Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Muhammad Naeem Sheikh.
The case, registered at the Musa Khel police station, pertained to the violent protests and vandalism that erupted in Mianwali following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in a graft case.
The ATC found Ahmed Khan Bachar and the other accused guilty of participating in the unrest, which targeted state institutions and public property.
May 9 violence
Violent clashes were broken out across Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023.
The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers were agitated due to their chairman’s arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order.
Army installations, including Corps Commander’s house in Lahore, had come under attack during the protests by PTI workers.
It is pertinent to mention that the PTI founder is named as main accused in all the May 9 riots cases.
Read More: Punjab Assembly Speaker suspends 26 opposition members
The verdict came at the time when the opposition MPAs allegedly caused disruption and damaged property during a Punjab Assembly session on June 27, 2025. In response, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan suspended the membership of these 26 SIC lawmakers.
Later on June 28, the speaker announced his decision to refer the matter to the ECP for the disqualification of the suspended members.
The members suspended by the speaker included Malik Fahad Masood, Muhammad Tanvir Aslam, Syed Riffat Mehmood, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Kalimullah Khan, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Ali Asif, Zulfiqar Ali, Ahmed Mujtaba Chaudhry, Shahid Javed, Muhammad Ismail, Khayal Ahmed, Shehbaz Ahmed, Tayyab Rashid, Imtiaz Mehmood, Ali Imtiaz, Rashid Tufail, Murtaza Iqbal, Khalid Zubair, Ijaz Shafi, Saima Kanwal, Muhammad Naeem, Sajjad Ahmed, Rana Aurangzeb, Shoaib Mir and Usama Asghar Ali Gujjar.