ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday slammed the convictions of its senior leaders by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore, branding the rulings as politically driven and a stark blow to judicial fairness.
The ATC Lahore sentenced four prominent PTI figures – Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Omar Sarfraz Cheema and Mian Mehmoodur Rashid – to 10 years in prison on charges related to terrorism and public unrest.
The cases stem from their alleged involvement in protests that escalated into violence in the wake of party founding chairman Imran Khan’s ouster and subsequent arrest.
In a statement, PTI’s spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly criticized the verdicts, describing them as “unjust” and alleging that the trials lacked transparency and due process.
“These convictions are the product of political vendetta,” Akram said. “The accused were denied basic rights to a fair defence, and the trials were conducted behind closed doors, often late at night.”
Akram accused the government of using the judiciary as a tool to suppress dissent, warning that such actions threaten the integrity of the country’s judicial system. “This is a deliberate effort to crush PTI’s political leadership and silence its supporters,” he added.
The PTI has pledged to challenge the convictions in high courts,
including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and vowed to continue what it described as a legal and political struggle for democratic rights and judicial independence.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025