Pakistan jails more than 100 members of ex-PM Imran Khan's party for riots

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced more than 100 members of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party to prison terms on charges related to riots that targeted military sites in 2023.

Fifty-eight of the defendants, who included parliamentarians and senior officials, were sentenced to 10 years in prison and the rest were given sentences ranging from one to three years, a court order said.

The accused include Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz, the leaders of Khan's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) in the lower and upper houses of parliament respectively.

"The prosecution has proved its case against the accused without a shadow of doubt," the court said in announcing the sentences.

Khan, who has been in prison since 2023 facing charges of corruption, land fraud and disclosure of official secrets, is being tried separately on similar charges related to the riot.

The government accuses him and other leaders of inciting the May 9, 2023, protests, during which demonstrators attacked military and government buildings, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

He denies wrongdoing and says all the cases are politically motivated as part of a military-backed crackdown to dismantle his party. The military denies it.

Khan's arrest had prompted the countrywide violent protests.

Thursday's ruling does not directly affect the incitement case against him in which prosecution is still presenting witnesses.

The PTI party said it will challenge the verdict.

The ruling is the third such mass conviction this month; Khan's party says they have included at least 14 of its parliamentarians.

They will lose their seats in parliament under Pakistani laws, which will shred Khan's opposition party's strength.

Another 77 were acquitted for lack of evidence in the latest verdict, which is linked to an attack on the office of an intelligence agency in eastern city of Faisalabad, the court said.

The party plans new protests starting on August 5, the second anniversary of Khan's jailing, to demand his release.