Lahore: An anti-terrorist court in Pakistan has sentenced several former lawmakers from the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to 10 years in prison each in connection with an arson case. The case pertains to attacks on military installations during protests against the brief arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated since May 2023.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Anti-Terrorism Court-I in Lahore acquitted former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the case. However, other prominent figures, including the former governor of Punjab, Umar Cheema, and former lawmakers Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Mian Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, were convicted and sentenced to a decade behind bars. Qureshi and some others are already serving jail time in different cases.

The incidents involved PTI workers allegedly attacking military installations, including the army headquarters, across Pakistan in protest of Khan's arrest. The events led to the arrests and convictions of hundreds of PTI supporters and leaders. The PTI has denied any involvement in the attacks, labeling the legal actions against its members as politically motivated.

Imran Khan, who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been held in Rawalpindi, a garrison city in northeastern Pakistan, since August 2023 on corruption charges. He is facing numerous legal battles, which he has dismissed as "shams."