Omar Ayub Khan and PTI Leaders Granted Bail in May 9 Cases

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Pakistan has granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan and other party leaders. The court’s decision came after the police failed to present the records of four cases and witnesses in court, which annoyed the judge.

The court heard the case against PTI leaders including Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Azam Swati, Zartaj Gul, Zain Qureshi, and former party leader Fawad Chaudhry. Due to the lack of evidence, the court granted bail to all the defendants.

Judge Natasha Naseem Supra of the ATC Court had earlier sentenced 51 PTI workers to five years of imprisonment for their involvement in the May 9 riots. These riots occurred after PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case in 2023. The protests turned violent, with attacks on army installations, including the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore.

Omar Ayub Khan has called the May 9 incident a conspiracy to target Imran Khan. The protests took place in various regions, including Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad, where armed forces were summoned to maintain law and order.