May 9: Lahore ATC also finds PTI leaders guilty
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Monday unveiled its verdict in two separate May 9 cases, convicting some key PTI leaders including Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed.
The ATC, which held its proceedings in a courtroom inside Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail, however, acquitted PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in both the cases registered in the wake of rioting incidents that broke out following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan on May 9, 2023.
Lahore ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill unveiled his verdict reserved a week back in two cases related respectively to burning of police vehicles at Rahat Bakery near Lahore Corps Commander House and attack on Shadman Police Station on May 9, 2023.
In the Rahat Bakery case, the judge acquitted seven out of the 17 accused including Shah Mahmood Qureshi but sentenced the others including Cheema, Dr Yasmin, Ejaz Chaudhry, Rashid to ten years in prison.
Those who were acquitted also included Muhammad Awais, Faizan, Taya Sultan, Shahid Baig, Sohail Khan, Rafiuddin, Fareed Khan, Sulaiman Ahmad, Abdul Qadir and Majid Ali.
In the Shadman Police Station attack case, the ATC acquitted 12 out of the 25 accused persons including Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
It, however, convicted Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chuadhry, Rashid and sentenced them to 10 years in prison. The court also convicted PTI's Aliya Hamza and Sanam Javed and sentenced them to 5 years in prison.
Earlier, during arguments, the accused's counsel, Burhan Moazzam Malik, questioned the implication of the accused persons in the FIRs, stating that forged and frivolous content had been drafted against innocent persons.
He also drew the court's attention to Article 13 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, which states that "no one shall be punished twice for the same offence."
He said the prosecution attributed the May 9 conspiracy to PTI's leadership. He said conspiracy is a single actyet sentences are being repeatedly awarded to the PTI leadership for it.
He argued that prosecution witnesses ASI Hassam Afzal and Constable Khalid admitted during cross-examination that they had given statements in five different ATCs to date, and their statement recorded in this case was their sixth. They further admitted that all these statements pertained to the same alleged conspiracy said to have been hatched at Zaman Park, Lahore.
The prosecution witnesses also admitted that, as of now, five of those courts have already announced their judgments in the relevant cases in which they had deposed earlier.
On the basis of their statements in those cases, the ATCs recorded convictions against some of the accused persons, thereby already awarding punishment to the same accused for the very same offence, based on the same evidence given by these witnesses.
It was further argued that the accused Dr Yasmin Rashid and Shah Mahmood Qureshi have already been tried by the ATC in FIR 97/2023, registered at Police Station Sarwar Road, wherein Yasmin was convicted for hatching this conspiracy at Zaman Park, while Qureshi was acquitted.
Hence, any further prosecution, trial, or proceedings against both accused is unconstitutional, illegal, and unlawful under Articles 4 and 13 of the Constitution of Pakistan, read with Section 403 of the CrPC and Section 26 of the General Clauses Act.
He maintained that the prosecution or any proceedings against the same accused persons, on the same allegation, for the same offence, based on the same evidence, is barred and not warranted by law.
Regarding the non-inspection of the alleged conspiracy site by the Investigation Officers (IOs), non-identification by the prosecution witnesses, and the absence of a site plan, Malik argued that both witnesses to the alleged conspiracy never pointed out any place of conspiracy.
The IOs also admitted that they had never visited or inspected the alleged place of conspiracy and further admitted that no site plan had ever been prepared for any such location. This means no such conspiracy was ever hatched and the prosecution failed to prove the allegation.
He argued that Qureshi, Dr Yasmin, Aliya Hamza, and others were neither alleged to have been present at the scene nor accused of committing any mischief or causing damage to property.
No specific allegation of causing damage to any property or committing any mischiefwhether by arson or otherwisewas ever levelled against any of the other accused throughout the trial.
Malik highlighted that none of the accused were mentioned as being present at the alleged scene of the crime in the FIR; no features or descriptions of unknown accused persons were provided in the FIR and no allegation of instigation by any of the accused, while being physically at the place of occurrence, was made.
He contended that no allegation of instigation or provocation through social media was levelled in the FIR. There was no explanation for the delay in lodging the FIR by the complainant and there was no allegation of any conspiracy hatched at Zaman Park was mentioned in the FIR.
He said in the FIR, there was no mention of a witness of any alleged instigation or conspiracy and also no time, date, or place of the alleged conspiracy.
Another lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umar, argued that no concrete evidence is available to establish any link between the accused persons and the charges in the FIR.
They argued that politically motivated cases had been registered against the accused merely to humiliate and blackmail them, adding that they were implicated in forged cases for standing by PTI's founding chairman, Imran Khan.
The prosecution, however, implored the court that there was substantial and cogent evidence against the accused persons showing they incited the public to commit the offence.
It added that the accused are fully involved in the offences committed on May 9, including hatching a conspiracy, damaging state properties, setting police vans ablaze, and creating law and order issues, anarchy, and chaos.