Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has reacted strongly to the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court’s verdicts in the May 9 cases, announcing it will challenge the decisions in higher courts.

On Monday, the court acquitted senior PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in two cases — the Shadman Town police station arson and the arson outside Rahat Bakery — but sentenced other leaders to prison terms.

PTI’s Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Imran Khan’s guard Hafiz Arshad each received 10-year sentences.

PTI Punjab’s chief organiser Alia Hamza and Sanam Javed were given five-year terms in the Shadman police station case.

In the Shadman arson case, 13 people were convicted and 12 acquitted, while in the Rahat Bakery incident, seven were convicted and 10 acquitted.

In a statement posted on X, a PTI spokesperson called the verdicts “a slap in the face of justice,” alleging they were based on political vengeance rather than legal principles.

The spokesperson said the trials ignored fair trial requirements, were conducted behind closed doors late into the night, and were shielded from public and media scrutiny.

They accused the authorities of accepting baseless and absurd evidence without legal justification, terming it a deliberate plan to sideline the party and intimidate its leadership and supporters.

The spokesperson added that punishing the country’s most popular political leaders — who they claimed were peaceful and law-abiding — under terrorism charges was an insult to both the Constitution and justice.

They said the identical pattern of controversial verdicts showed the judicial system had “completely collapsed.”

PTI vowed not to be deterred in its struggle for democratic rights and the supremacy of the Constitution, announcing plans to appeal the decisions in high courts and the Supreme Court.

The party reiterated its rejection of the verdicts, its commitment to stand with its innocent leaders and workers, and its determination to continue the legal, public, and political fight “until the last breath.”