ISLAMABAD: A National Assembly member of PTI and 11 other men have been sentenced for ransacking a police station during the protests triggered by the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May 2023.

MNA Abdul Latif and others were awarded varying prison sentences and fines for attacking the Ramna police station in Islamabad.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the decision on Friday.

The attack took place on May 10, 2023, when protests broke out in several cities after Mr Khan was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case.

According to the ruling, a mob of around 40 to 50 PTI supporters, some armed and carrying party flags, launched a coordinated assault on the police station.The group reportedly attempted to break down the main gate, set four police motorcycles ablaze and fired live rounds at the police.The attackers also damaged a mosque located within the police station premises.

The law enforcement officers responded with aerial firing to disperse the mob.

Sentences The accused were charged under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (Unlawful assembly), 186 (Obstructing official duty), 188 (Disobeying order of a public servant), 324 (Attempted murder), 353 (Assault on public servants), 436 (Arson) and 440 (Mischief); Section 144 of CrPC; and Section 7 of the Anti Terro-rism Act (ATA), 1997.

The convicts were sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison along with a fine worth Rs327,000. The sentences shallrun concurrently, the judge said.

They were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment under Section 7 ATA, five years under Section 324 of PPC, four under Section 436, two each under sections 353 and 148.

All sentences would run concurrently, with an additional six months of imprisonment if the convicts failed to pay the fines.

During the trial, 21 prosecution witnesses, primarily police officers present at the time of the attack, recorded their testimonies.

The identification parade of suspects was conducted under the supervision of judicial magistrates, during which multiple officers positively identified the accused.

The defense maintained that the accusedwere politically targeted and denied their presence at the crime scene.

They cited the Supreme Court`s ruling in the 2020 Ghulam Hussain case (PLD 2020 SC 61) to argue the acts lacked the necessary elements to qualify as `terrorism` under the law.

However, Judge Sipra rejected the arguments, stating the motive behind the attack was not personal vengeance but political coercion, which met the threshold of terrorism as defined in Section 7(1)(b) of the.

`The deliberate targeting of a state institution with firearms and arson aimed to destabilize the state and instill fear a clear act of terrorism,` the judgment read.

The judge further noted that inconsistencies in witness testimonies did not affect the overall reliability of the evidence.

On the contrary, the fact that some witnesses failed to identify all the accused proved the identification process was not manipulated.

Four convicts, Sohail Khan, Meera Khan, Shahzaib and Muhammad Akram, were under custody.

The court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for MNA Lateef, Abdul Basit, Samuel Robert, Wazeerzada, Shan Ali, Muhammad Yousaf and Zaryab Khan, who were absconding.

MNA Latif, who was elected from NA-1 Chitral, was not present in the court when the verdict was announced. The lawmaker will be disqualified for five years after the conviction, Dawn.com reported.

The trial of proclaimed offender Anwar Khan has been separated.

Subservient judiciary PTI has condemned the convictions, calling them `unjust, politically motivated, and a violation of Pakistan`s Constitution and justice system`.

The central informationsecretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, said the court rushed the judgment without legal representation and the prosecution failed to present credible evidence in two years.

Mr Akram stated the protests on May 9 `were manipulated to justify a crackdown on PTI leadership and workers`.

The judiciary has become `subservient to the executive` following the 26th Constitutional Amendment. The government has turned courts into `tools of political revenge`.

He said the party will challenge the verdict in the Islamabad High Court and approach global forums, such as the InterParliamentary Union.

Mr Akram vowed to continue peaceful resistance, emphasising the PTI will not be silenced through fabricated cases or oppression.

He announced nationwide protests to demand justice and the restoration of democracy.

The PTI will `stand firm for the rule of law and democratic rights` of the people.