Latest news with #Lahore
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Pakistan jails eight senior members of Imran Khan's party over 2023 protests
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced eight members of Imran Khan 's party to 10 years in jail each for inciting protests that targeted military sites following the former prime minister's arrest in 2023. Mr Khan faces a separate trial on similar charges, with prosecutors accusing him and fellow PTI party leaders of instigating the unrest that saw protesters attack government and military sites, including the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi and a senior commander's residence in Lahore. Tuesday's ruling has no direct bearing on Mr Khan's ongoing trial, Reuters reported. The convicted PTI members include officials of the party's previous provincial government in Punjab such as Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mehmoodur Rashid, and Umar Sarfraz Cheema. The trial was held behind closed doors in a prison in Lahore city. The sentencing of its eight prominent members is the latest in a wave of prosecutions targeting Mr Khan's PTI following his ouster in 2022. Defence lawyers plan to appeal, citing inconsistencies in the rulings against people charged with the same offences. 'It's surprising that six people were acquitted while eight were convicted, even though they were all charged under the same allegations,' defence counsel Burhan Moazzam said. Among those acquitted was PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The former foreign minister remains in custody on separate charges. After Mr Khan's arrest on corruption charges on 9 May 2023, thousands of his supporters stormed military installations in a dramatic escalation of unrest triggered by his ouster the previous year. The ensuing clashes left 10 people dead in the capital city of Islamabad and led to the arrests of around 4,000 people. Mr Khan's supporters, who accused the powerful military of orchestrating his ouster through a no confidence vote, targeted an airbase, multiple cantonments, the residence of a senior general, and the army headquarters after the leader was forcibly removed from a courtroom and taken into custody. Mr Khan, 72, completes two years in prison next month. He faces around 150 charges, ranging from corruption to terrorism. His party claims all the cases filed against him are politically motivated.
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan sentences eight prominent Imran Khan aides for 2023 unrest
LAHORE: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced eight senior members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party to 10 years in prison late on Tuesday over riots that targeted military sites following Khan's 2023 arrest, their lawyer said. Khan is on trial on similar charges, being tried separately. The government accuses him and other leaders of inciting the May 9, 2023, protests, during which demonstrators attacked military and government buildings, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the residence of a senior commander in Lahore. The prosecution is still presenting witnesses in Khan's proceedings, and Tuesday's verdict does not directly affect his case. The sentences, issued in a jail trial in Lahore, are among a series of prosecutions involving Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Defense lawyer Burhan Moazzam said they would appeal. 'It is surprising that six people were acquitted while eight were convicted, even though they were all charged under the same allegations,' he said. The case relates to one of several incidents stemming from the May 9 unrest, involving alleged incitement during attacks near a major intersection in Lahore. Moazzam said separate trials were ongoing in connection with other incidents that day. Those sentenced include senior PTI figures who held positions in Khan's Punjab government: Yasmin Rashid, a former provincial health minister; Ejaz Chaudhry, a senator; Mehmoodur Rashid, a former housing minister; and Umar Sarfraz Cheema, a former provincial governor and aide to Khan. The court also acquitted PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is in custody in connection with other cases, and it was not immediately clear whether the acquittal would lead to his release. Commenting on the verdict, junior law minister Aqeel Malik told local media the decision was 'in line with the law and the constitution.' Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, remains in prison facing multiple cases, including charges of corruption, contempt and disclosure of official secrets. He denies wrongdoing and says the cases are politically motivated. The military denies targeting PTI. Authorities say the May 9 violence caused billions in damage and led to over 3,000 arrests in Punjab.
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Top Imran Khan ally among over 35 PTI members jailed 10 years over riots
ISLAMABAD, July 23 — A Pakistani opposition leader was among more than three dozen members and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan's party sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday, the government said. The sentences were handed down by anti-terrorism courts in the eastern cities of Lahore and Sargodha after dozens were found guilty of involvement in anti-government riots when Khan was first arrested. 'Punjab Assembly's Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Bhachar has been awarded a 10-year sentence,' deputy minister of law Aqeel Malik said in a press conference. Bhachar helms the opposition in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and politically influential province. Following yesterday's verdict, he pledged on social media 'not to abandon' support for Khan. A spokesman for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party told AFP that Bhachar was not arrested until Tuesday evening. In addition to Bhachar, a court in Sargodha also sentenced a sitting lawmaker, a former parliamentarian and 32 other supporters of PTI to 10 years each for attacking government buildings, Malik said. Separately, a court in Lahore sentenced eight PTI members to 10 years in prison each for their involvement in riots in that city. Those sentenced include former governor of Punjab province Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former provincial minister Yasmin Rashid, and Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary, a sitting senator. However, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was acquitted along with five others. Khan, in office from 2018 to 2022, was initially arrested in May 2023, sparking nationwide unrest, some of which targeted military facilities. Yesterday's sentences were handed down for attacks on police and civilian installations in Khan's home constituencies of Mianwali city and Lahore. Those accused of targeting military installations are facing separate trials in military courts. PTI has vowed to challenge the verdicts in higher courts. The prosecutions 'expose a disturbing pattern of procedural impropriety, selective justice, and constitutional violations,' said Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for PTI. He called the trials 'political spectacles... that are being rushed through at breakneck speed - day-to-day hearings, even late-night sessions till 10:40 PM on a Saturday.' Khan has been jailed since August 2023 on a slew of corruption charges his party says are politically motivated. His supporters and senior party leaders have also faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up and Khan's name censored from television. Last year, a UN panel of experts found that Khan's detention 'had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him' from contesting elections. Khan's popularity continues to undermine a shaky coalition government that kept PTI from power after the polls last year. — AFP
France 24
14 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Pakistan courts sentence dozens from Khan's party
The sentences were handed down by anti-terrorism courts in the eastern cities of Lahore and Sargodha after dozens were found guilty of involvement in anti-government riots when Khan was first arrested. "Punjab Assembly's Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Bhachar has been awarded a 10-year sentence," deputy minister of law Aqeel Malik said in a press conference. Bhachar helms the opposition in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and politically influential province. Following Tuesday's verdict, he pledged on social media "not to abandon" support for Khan. A spokesman for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party told AFP that Bhachar was not arrested until Tuesday evening. In addition to Bhachar, a court in Sargodha also sentenced a sitting lawmaker, a former parliamentarian and 32 other supporters of PTI to 10 years each for attacking government buildings, Malik said. Separately, a court in Lahore sentenced eight PTI members to 10 years in prison each for their involvement in riots in that city. Those sentenced include former governor of Punjab province Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former provincial minister Yasmin Rashid, and Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary, a sitting senator. However, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was acquitted along with five others. Khan, in office from 2018 to 2022, was initially arrested in May 2023, sparking nationwide unrest, some of which targeted military facilities. Tuesday's sentences were handed down for attacks on police and civilian installations in Khan's home constituencies of Mianwali city and Lahore. Those accused of targeting military installations are facing separate trials in military courts. PTI has vowed to challenge the verdicts in higher courts. The prosecutions "expose a disturbing pattern of procedural impropriety, selective justice, and constitutional violations," said Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for PTI. He called the trials "political spectacles... that are being rushed through at breakneck speed — day-to-day hearings, even late-night sessions till 10:40 PM on a Saturday." Khan has been jailed since August 2023 on a slew of corruption charges his party says are politically motivated. His supporters and senior party leaders have also faced a severe crackdown, with thousands rounded up and Khan's name censored from television. Last year, a UN panel of experts found that Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him" from contesting elections. Khan's popularity continues to undermine a shaky coalition government that kept PTI from power after the polls last year.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Big cat owners hide their animals amid Pakistani crackdown
The smell hanging in the air is the first sign there's something unusual about the farmhouse on the outskirts of one of Pakistan's largest cities, inside, the cause becomes clear: the property is home to 26 lions, tigers and cubs – and belongs to rain, he says, has turned the ground into the animals are "happy here", he insists. "When they see us, they come over, they eat... they're not aggressive."Almost instantly, one of the lions roars."That one is aggressive, it's his nature," Fayyaz says. Fayyaz loves big cats. From this facility – thought to be the largest of its kind in private hands nationwide – the 38-year-old has sold cubs and breeding pairs for the last 10 years. He is widely considered to be one of the biggest lion dealers in decades these animals – lions, tigers, pumas, cheetahs and jaguars – have been a sign of power, status and even political fealty in the country. The tiger, for example, is a symbol of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. More recently, with the dawn of short video social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, there's been a surge in ownership, with lions now sometimes even brought along to wedding in the wake of a pet lion escaping and attacking a woman and her two children as they walked down the street in Lahore, the government has launched a crackdown – one which is already impacting people like Fayyaz. Among the new rules, owners must pay a one-time registration fee of 50,000 Pakistani rupees ($176; £129) per animal and farms are to keep a maximum of 10 big cats from no more than two species. The sites must also be open to the public for new laws could result in a fine of up to 200,000 Pakistani rupees and, for the worst offenders, up to seven years in another property on the outskirts of Lahore, five lion cubs – their coats muddied – pace around a cage."But where are the parents?" a wildlife official asks there are several empty cages. Wildlife officials are here after receiving a tip-off that a man was holding lions and cubs without a licence, and was breeding them for sale illegally. By the time they arrived, the owner was missing, leaving his caretaker holding the bag."I was only hired two weeks ago," he complains, as he was placed in the back of a truck and taken away for questioning. The officials suspect the owner may have taken the cubs' parents away and hidden rescued cubs have now been transferred to a public zoo in Lahore, and isolated for medical in a country where big cats have been sold for decades, officials worry the raids are barely scratching the surface. They believe there are in fact hundreds, if not thousands, of undeclared big cats in the state of Punjab alone."This is going to take at least six months," Mubeen Ellahi, the director general of Wildlife & Parks, tells the BBC. He expects 30-40% of the lions in Punjab will not be voluntarily is also another complication. Mubeen explains inbreeding has become a common practice in Pakistan, and some big cats may have to be euthanised. "They have a lot of health problems. We are still considering the policy," he added. He pointed to another incident in December last year, when another lion escaped in Lahore, and was then shot and at Fayyaz's property, he is considering what to do official told the BBC they're dissatisfied with the size of the cages, and that the farm needs to convert itself into a zoo. Fayyaz now has three months to animal rights groups believe more needs to be done for these animals."We've been calling for sanctuaries, not zoos," Altamush Saeed told the BBC. He wants more transparency of the conditions inside the zoos, and for the government to properly address the problem of privately owning big cats."We need a systematic solution, not stopgaps."Additional reporting by Usman Zahid and Malik Mudassir
