Four prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have been charged by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad in relation to the assault on Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah’s residence. PTI supporters gathered outside Sanaullah’s home and threw stones at it during protests that followed the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan on May 9.
When the allegations were read in court, Shibli Faraz, Kanwal Shozab, Fawad Chaudhry, and the accused Opposition Leader Omar Ayub were not there. Consequently, the court postponed the hearing to February 8 and imposed the charges in absentia.
In a number of cases pertaining to the May 9 riots, PTI founder Imran Khan has petitioned the Lahore High Court (LHC) for post-arrest release. Imran Khan, who is presently being held in Islamabad by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), insists that he had nothing to do with the violence that day and characterises the accusations as politically motivated and a part of a larger effort at political retaliation.
Following Imran Khan’s incarceration, violent confrontations broke out throughout Pakistan on May 9, 2023, with demonstrations taking place in both large cities and rural areas. Authorities and PTI employees clashed, and attacks were made on military targets, including the home of the Corps Commander in Lahore. The main defendant in the cases pertaining to the incident on May 9 is Imran Khan.
