Pakistani court sentences four Imran Khan party leaders to 10 years in prison, former FM Qureshi acquitted

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. File | Photo credit: AP

A Pakistani court on Saturday (June 20, 2026) sentenced four senior leaders of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party to 10 years’ imprisonment in a case linked to the 2023 riots, while it acquitted former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Violent protests erupted across the country on May 9, 2023, mainly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, following the arrest of former cricketer-turned-politician Khan. Protesters vandalized dozens of military installations and state-owned buildings.

Former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, former Punjab Minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former Senator Ejaz Chaudhry were found guilty for their roles in attacking and burning police vehicles in Mughalpura area of ​​Lahore.

The verdict, which was reserved on Thursday, June 19, was delivered by Judge Manzer Ali Gill of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). The convicts have been incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore since 2023 and have already been convicted in other riot-related cases.

The ATC acquitted Qureshi and 11 other PTI workers due to lack of evidence against them. Qureshi has also been in jail since 2023 in several other cases.

Khan, 73, has been incarcerated in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi since August 2023 for several cases. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has categorically rejected the ATC verdict, terming it a “false case”.

The party, in a statement released on Saturday (June 20), said the judgment raised “deep concerns about due process, judicial fairness and procedural integrity.”

“Several individuals involved in the May 9-related cases were clearly not even present in Pakistan at the time of the alleged incidents,” PTI said.

“Such glaring inconsistencies cast serious doubt on the credibility of the broader legal process surrounding these cases,” the statement added.

The party further said the defendants did not benefit from guarantees of a “free and fair trial”, with the proceedings taking place in an environment marked by “political pressure, restricted access, prolonged detentions and repeated violations of fundamental legal rights”.

“The result appears less like an exercise in justice than the continuation of a systematic campaign to punish political opponents through the courts,” the party said.

The party said it would challenge the verdict through available legal and constitutional channels.

Published – Jun 20, 2026 at 8:12 PM IST

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