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Pakistani opposition leader and nearly 200 Imran Khan supporters sentenced over 2023 riots
FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN, JUL 31 – Omar Ayub Khan and 196 supporters received 10-year sentences for involvement in 2023 protests marked by violence targeting military and government sites, legal appeals planned.
- On July 31, 2025, a court in Faisalabad, Punjab, sentenced opposition leader Omar Ayub along with nearly 200 associates linked to Imran Khan to a decade behind bars for their involvement in the 2023 riots.
- The sentences followed violent nationwide protests that erupted on May 9, 2023, after Khan's arrest in Islamabad, which led to attacks on military officers and government buildings during the unrest.
- The convicted group includes at least six National Assembly members, one senator, and a provincial MP from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party; the court's decision came just before planned events commemorating the third year since Khan's earlier convictions.
- PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan condemned the rulings as unfounded and politically driven, announcing plans to appeal the decisions in a higher court and accusing the verdicts of being designed to disrupt upcoming rallies.
- The convictions signal an unprecedented mass sentencing of political workers in Pakistan and prompt appeals, while Khan’s supporters view the outcomes as damaging to democracy amid ongoing political tensions.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Pakistan sentences opposition leader, 196 Imran Khan supporters to 10 years over 2023 riots
In a major crackdown, a court in eastern Pakistan on Thursday sentenced nearly 200 supporters of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, including senior opposition leader Omar Ayub, to 10 years in prison each for their alleged role in the 2023 riots. The court in Faisalabad, located in Punjab province, delivered the verdicts in three separate cases involving 196 individuals. The convictions stem from the violent protests that erupted nationw…
PTI heavyweights jailed for 'attacks on state institutions'
A special anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on Thursday sentenced top PTI leaders, including Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years in jail on charges related to riots that targeted state institutions in 2023. Fifty-eight of the 185 defendants, who included parliamentarians and senior officials, were sentenced to 10 years in prison and the r…
In 2023, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested and jailed for corruption. Since then, the country has been shaken by violent riots in protest. On Thursday, 31 July, Pakistan's opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for supporting the former Prime Minister. A sentence that shakes the country.
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