ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday convicted Mohammad Sikandar and sentenced him to 18 years in prison for his involvement in the 2013 Jinnah Avenue standof f.

ATC Judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi, however, acquitted his spouse Kanwal Sikandar.

Sikandar was arrested six hours into the standof f, which took place on Aug 15, 2013, af ter he was shot by security personnel. He was taken into custody and received medical treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

According to the charges, Sikandar, who was the main suspect, fired into the air on Jinnah Avenue on Aug 15 and remained there for five hours. He was shot and seriously wounded by the police after Zamurd Khan, a PPP leader, made an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend Sikandar.

The police had also nominated Kanwal Sikandar and arms dealer Akhtar Ali as coaccused in the case.

An FIR was registered on Aug 16 under section 6 of the Anti-Terrorist Act. The police recorded the statements of around 30 witnesses, including police personnel, doctors and eyewitnesses, and attached video footage of the case as evidence againstSikandar.

On Nov 26 the same year, the police submitted a list of charges against him in court, accusing him of endangering the lives of innocent people, using children as human shields and the unlawful use of weapons.

The suspects were indicted on Jan 8, 2014, and denied all the allegations against them. Ms Sikandar was released from Adiala jail on bail on Oct 23, 2014.