An anti-terrorism court on Saturday (March 7, 2026) sentenced 47 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and supporters to 10 years imprisonment and a PKR 5,00,000 fine each in absentia for vandalism and violence during the May 9, 2023, protest.

The countrywide protest was launched by workers and leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following the arrest of former Prime Minister and party founder Imran Khan in Islamabad.

A group of protesters also tried to storm the General Headquarters, the seat of the army chief, in Rawalpindi, resulting in vandalism of the properties. The case was registered at the RA Bazar Police Station, Rawalpindi, soon after the incident.

The PTI supporters were charged with arson, siege, vandalism, attacks on police, and damaging government property, specifically in connection with attacks on the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp, the Army Museum, and Sixth Road Metro Station.

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Rawalpindi judge, Amjad Ali Shah, issued the verdict against the 47 who had already been declared as proclaimed offenders.

The court found them guilty and sentenced each of them to 10 years imprisonment, along with a fine of PKR 5,00,000 per convict and the confiscation of their movable and immovable properties. In the event of non-payment of the fine, the convicted accused will be required to serve additional imprisonment.

Among the convicted PTI leaders are Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Murad Saeed, Zartaj Gul, Hammad Azhar, Kanwal Shauzab, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Ejaz Khan Jazi, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra, Muhammad Ahmad Chattha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Rai Muhammad Murtaza, among others.

According to the court’s written verdict, the convicted accused were found involved in the conspiracy behind the May 9 incidents, with a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) identifying them as key suspects in the planning of the violent protests.

The 47 individuals were tried separately under Section 21 L of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as they had been absent from court proceedings and were declared proclaimed offenders.

The May 9 GHQ attack case is part of a broader prosecution in which a total of 118 accused, including PTI founder Mr. Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were also indicted, with charges formally framed against all 118 in December 2024. Mr. Khan is currently in Adiala Jail, facing multiple cases that were instituted against him after his government was removed in April 2022.

Sons of Pakistan’s incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan have accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of “deliberately” refusing visas to them, saying democracy in the country is “hollow” and basic human rights are being “crushed.”

Khan, 73, was arrested and jailed in August 2023 in multiple cases and is currently lodged in the Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi after his conviction in one of them.

Suleman Khan and Kasim Khan, who currently live in London, are Khan’s sons from his first marriage with British TV personality Jemima Goldsmith.

“My brother and I are trying to travel to Pakistan to see our father. For 914 days, he has been held in solitary confinement while his health deteriorates and he is denied access to independent medical care.

“Now the government is deliberately refusing to process our visas. Denying a prisoner treatment is cruel. Denying his children the right to see him is collective punishment,” Mr. Kasim Khan said in a post on X on Wednesday (February 4, 2026).

Imran Khan’s family has claimed he has been in solitary confinement for the past several months and his health condition is not better.

On January 29, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that Imran Khan underwent a medical procedure for an eye ailment at a hospital a week before and currently is in “good health.”

The development came a day after the former Prime Minister’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claimed that its jailed founder was suffering from a serious eye ailment that could cause permanent damage to his eyesight if not treated promptly.

Mr. Kasim Khan reiterated that his father has now spent “over 900 days in a death cell with no family visits and no access to his personal doctors,” and added in his post on X that credible reports confirm he has been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion, a dangerous blockage that can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated through urgent medical intervention in a proper hospital.

“Yet authorities continue to block his treatment and deny him the doctors he trusts. I am even denied the right to speak to him. This is not governance. This is authoritarian cruelty,” Mr. Kasim Khan said and called on every defender of human rights to act “before it is too late.”

“The world must see that in Pakistan today, democracy is hollow and basic human rights are being crushed. I call on international human rights organisations and governments to speak out and act before irreversible harm is done,” he said.

Before Minister Tarar’s statement, the PTI had uploaded a post on social media with the title “Reaction on Grave Health Emergency of Imran Khan and the Obstinacy of the Government and Adiala Jail Administration.”

“The PTI has learned through credible media reports that former prime minister Imran Khan has been diagnosed with CRVO (Central Retinal Vein Occlusion) in his right eye, resulting in a dangerous blockage in the retinal vein.”

“According to medical experts who reportedly checked him in jail, this is an extremely sensitive and serious medical condition which, if not treated promptly and properly, carries a high risk of permanent damage to his eyesight,” it said.

A Pakistani court has extended the interim bail of former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the May 9 cases and five other matters.

The court also directed that the 73-year-old former premier should appear at the next hearing either in person or through video link.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka heard the pre-arrest bail applications on Tuesday (December 23, 2025), where advocate Shamsa Kayani appeared on behalf of Khan and Bibi, Dawn reported.

Consequently, the court extended the interim bail and adjourned the hearing till January 27, directing that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder’s appearance be ensured on the next date.

Apart from the May 9 cases, other cases, including an attempt to murder and submission of alleged fake receipts, have been registered against the former prime minister.

Imran Khan, wife sentenced to 14 years in prison in third conviction

A separate case pertaining to the alleged submission of fake receipts related to Toshakhana gifts has also been lodged against Bushra Bibi.

Meanwhile, Additional District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Amir Zia also extended Bushra Bibi’s interim bail on her pre-arrest bail application and adjourned the matter till January 27.

A case was registered against her at the Ramna police station under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act and other relevant provisions.

The May 9 cases are related to violence by Imran Khan’s supporters who resorted to vandalism in 2023 after his arrest in Islamabad.

Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces multiple cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022. He and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years in jail each by a court in the Toshakhana 2 corruption case.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan is alive but subjected to “mental torture in solitary confinement”, his sister Dr Uzma Khan said on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) after meeting him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement after Dr. Uzma’s meeting with the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician that Mr. Khan has been “put in solitary confinement and he is being subjected to mental torture”.

Upon her return, she also confirmed that Mr. Khan’s health looks fine, the statement added.

An unannounced ban was placed on meeting Mr. Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023 in multiple cases, for more than a month.

Constantly denying his family members from meeting the PTI founder led to speculations on social media whether he is alive or dead.

Adiala Jail authorities however claimed that he is in “good health”.

Earlier, the PTI in a statement said that one of the sisters of Mr. Khan, Dr Uzma Khan, was permitted to meet him.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government deployed the entire Rawalpindi police force along Adiala Road to thwart the PTI protest.

The government has already imposed Section 144 (ban on gathering of four or more people) in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The station house officers of eight police stations in Rawalpindi along with senior officers are present outside Adiala Jail.

“An eight-kilometre stretch has been completely sealed. Schools and colleges are closed. Residents are being required to show their ID card to pass through the area,” an official of Punjab government told PTI.

A group of lawyers also held a demonstration outside the Islamabad High Court against the government for keeping Imran Khan in isolation.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said compliance with Section 144 would be ensured in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at any cost.

“Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” the Minister said.

Earlier, Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan demanded the government present proof that he (Khan) is alive.

“We demand proof of (Imran Khan)’s life,” Khan’s son Kasim Khanhad said in a post on X.

Mr. Khan’s party has warned the authorities of countrywide protests if the government does not allow his sisters to see him.

His sisters have also warned that if anything happens to Khan, those involved and their families will not be spared by Pakistanis both here and abroad.

Kasim Khan, the son of Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Thursday (November 27, 2025), called for an urgent intervention to ensure his father’s safety. The London-based younger Khan’s appeal comes as his family and his father’s  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party colleagues say they have been denied access to the politician who was first arrested in May 2023 and is serving a 14 year sentence on corruption and other charges.

“I call on the international community, global human rights organisations and every democratic voice to intervene urgently,” Kasim Khan said.

PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari had said on Thursday (November 27, 2025) that the senior Mr Khan was last seen on November 4.

The politician’s sisters have also sought interventions to gain access to their brother who is lodged in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. 

“This absolute blackout is not a security protocol. It is a deliberate attempt to hide his condition and prevent our family from knowing whether he is safe,” said Mr. Kasim Khan, adding that Pakistan’s government and its “handlers” would be held accountable for all consequences of Mr. Khan’s alleged isolation.

Imran Khan and his colleagues have alleged that the charges were politically motivated.

Mr. Kasim Khan said that neither he, nor his brother, Sulaiman Isa Khan, had had any contact with their father nor seen any “proof of life”. The two brothers were born to British TV producer Jemima Goldsmith, Imran Khan’s first wife, and moved back to London from Pakistan, with their mother,  after their parents divorced in 2004.

Launching a fresh attack on Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has described him as the “most oppressive dictator” in the country’s history and a “mentally unstable” man.

The 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

“Asim Munir is the most oppressive dictator in Pakistan’s history and a mentally unstable man. The extent of tyranny under his rule is unprecedented….Munir, in his lust for power, is capable of doing anything,” Khan’s official handle posted on X on Tuesday (November 4, 2025).

The tragedies of May 9, November 26 and Muridke are the worst examples of the “blind use of power,” Khan said, referring to killings of his party workers in direct firing by security personnel in Islamabad and police crackdown on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in Muridke.

“The indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians is something no civilised society could ever even contemplate. No other era has witnessed such brutalities against women as this one,” he said.

Khan said his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been kept in solitary confinement merely to put pressure on him.

“We prefer death over slavery. Asim Munir is inflicting every possible form of injustice upon me and my wife. No political leader’s family has ever faced such cruelty. I want to make it absolutely clear once again — no matter what he (Munir) does, I will neither bow down nor submit to him,” he said.

Khan said his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will not hold talks with either the Form-47 government of Shehbaz Sharif or the powerful military establishment.

“Negotiating with a puppet government is meaningless when its Prime Minister operates under a policy of ‘I will ask before I answer.’ Talks are futile also because every time we attempted dialogue, repression only intensified. All power currently lies with one individual — Asim Munir — who will go to any extent to secure his seat,” he said.

The final decision regarding any talks will be made by Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (Movement for the Protection of the Constitution) allies — Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Khan added.

He said the cases against him are being deliberately prolonged to keep him imprisoned. “Everyone knows these cases are baseless and will eventually collapse, which is why they are being withheld from hearing,” he added.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday handed down jail terms from three to 10 years to 75 leaders and workers of Imran Khan’s party for their involvement in an attack on the house of a senior PML-N leader during the May 9 riots.

“The ATC Faisalabad sentenced 59 leaders and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to 10 years of imprisonment, three years to 16 and acquitted 34 in the attack on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Punjab president Rana Sanaullah’s house,” a court official said.

He said the court sentenced a total of 75 people out of the total 109 accused.

Prominent among those convicted are former opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, former Senate opposition leader Shibli Fraz, former lawmakers Zartaj Gul Ahmad Chatha, Ashraf Khan Sohna and Sheikh Rashid Shafique (nephew of former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed) and Kanwal Shauzab.

Earlier, these leaders were also convicted for 10 years each for attacking the ISI building in Faisalabad. The sentences will run concurrently.

Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son Zain Qureshi were acquitted in the case, the official said.

On May 9, 2023, Imran Khan’s supporters vandalised the military and state buildings, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Mr. Khan has been in jail for the last two years in multiple cases, while thousands of his party workers are also incarcerated in the May 9-related cases.

The courts in Punjab have started sentencing the PTI leaders and workers on the order of the Supreme Court.

The PTI strongly condemned the verdict, saying the ruling was based on fake cases and phony witnesses.

“Under the guise of May 9, innumerable injustices have been inflicted upon ordinary citizens, families and leadership of PTI,” Imran Khan’s close aide Zulfi Bokhari said in a post on X.

“One of the victims is Shahrez, one of Aleema Khan’s sons, who’s been remanded. When the judge declined even a cursory glance at the evidence establishing that Shahrez was not in Lahore on the 9th of May, it amounted to a most grievous miscarriage of justice. This sombre chapter shall be indelibly inscribed in history, and those accountable shall not elude the hand of justice,” he added.