An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has pronounced judgment in the case related to the May 9 attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ), sentencing 47 proclaimed offenders, including members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to 10 years in prison each. The court also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on each convict and ordered the seizure of their assets.
The court has directed all 47 accused to surrender within 60 days. If any accused surrenders by May 7, their sentence will be revoked, and the case will be adjudicated on its merits. The convicted individuals must surrender before the court by the specified date.
ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah announced the verdict and issued warrants for the sentence and surrender. Special Prosecutor Zaheer Shah represented the state in the case.
Failure to pay the Rs500,000 fine will result in additional imprisonment for the accused.
The convicted PTI members include Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Murad Saeed, Zartaj Gul, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Ejaz Khan Jazi, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra, Muhammad Ahmad Chattha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Rai Muhammad Murtaza, among others.
The court's written verdict stated that the convicted individuals were involved in planning the violent protests on May 9, as identified by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT). They were charged with arson, siege, vandalism, attacks on police, and damaging government property during incidents at the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp, the Army Museum, and Sixth Road Metro Station. The case was registered at RA Bazaar Police Station.
The 47 accused were tried separately under Section 21L of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as they had been absent from court proceedings for two years and were declared proclaimed offenders. Of these, 18 were continuously absent during the trial, while 29 never appeared in court after the case was registered.
The prosecution initiated proceedings against them on January 6 under Section 19/10. Following a judicial inquiry that confirmed their deliberate absconding, the court ordered notices to be published in newspapers on January 8, granting the accused seven days to surrender.
Despite the court orders and published notices, none of the accused appeared. The court then appointed a state counsel for the proclaimed offenders, framed charges, recorded statements of 19 prosecution witnesses, cross-examined by the state counsel, and concluded the trial with the verdict announced on Saturday.
The May 9 GHQ attack case is part of a larger prosecution involving a total of 118 accused, including PTI founder Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who were indicted, with charges formally framed against all in December 2024. Out of the 119 witnesses in the case, 47 have provided statements, but none have been cross-examined. Delays of approximately three months in the main trial were caused by a malfunctioning video link system.
