The Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi has announced its verdict in the May 9 GHQ attack case, sentencing 47 proclaimed offenders to 10 years in prison each after completion of their separate trials.
The court, presided over by ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah, also ordered the confiscation of the properties of those convicted.
According to the verdict, the prosecution presented evidence and recorded statements of witnesses during the proceedings. The proclaimed suspects were tried separately from the other accused in the case.
The court stated in its decision that the convicted suspects were found involved in the alleged conspiracy behind the May 9 events. The JIT had also identified some of the accused as key suspects allegedly involved in planning the incidents.
The case includes the names of several prominent PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Murad Saeed, Zulfi Bukhari, Shahbaz Gill, Ali Amin Gandapur, Shandana Gulzar, Hamad Azhar and Azam Swati, among others.
The accused faced allegations relating to attacks on the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp and the Army Museum, as well as rioting, vandalism and damage to important government and military installations.
The case initially involved 118 accused. Several suspects were declared proclaimed offenders during the proceedings, while a number of accused did not appear before any court after the registration of the case.
