The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday disqualified nine parliamentarians belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz and National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, following their convictions in the May 9 violence cases.
The ECP issued an official notification stating that the disqualified lawmakers were found guilty in anti-terrorism court verdicts related to violent protests that erupted after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May 2023.
According to the notification, the disqualified lawmakers include MNAs Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Zartaj Gul, Junaid Afzal Sahi, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Rai Haider Ali, as well as MPA Rai Murtaza Iqbal.
Their disqualification renders five National Assembly seats, one Senate seat, and three Punjab Assembly seats vacant. The seats were declared vacant under the orders of the anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad.
Omar Ayub was disqualified from NA-18 (Haripur), Rai Haider Ali from NA-96 (Faisalabad), Sahibzada Hamid Raza from NA-104 (Faisalabad), Rai Hassan Nawaz from NA-143 (Sahiwal), Zartaj Gul from NA-185, Ansar Iqbal from PP-73 (Sargodha), Junaid Afzal Sahi from PP-98 (Faisalabad), and Rai Murtaza Iqbal from PP-203 (Sahiwal).
On Thursday, an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad sentenced 196 PTI leaders and workers — including Ayub, Faraz and Zartaj Gul — to up to 10 years in prison over their involvement in three May 9-related cases. Another 88 accused were acquitted.
Earlier, on July 22, Lahore’s anti-terrorism court acquitted PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and five others in a separate May 9 arson case, while handing 10-year prison terms to senior PTI figures including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema.
In a separate verdict, the Sargodha anti-terrorism court sentenced 32 PTI activists — including Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmad Khan Bhachar and MNA Ahmad Chattha — to 10 years in prison over rioting and destruction of public property in Mianwali.
The May 9, 2023 protests erupted nationwide after Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Demonstrators set fire to government, military, and private properties, including the PML-N office in Lahore’s Model Town, and attacked military installations such as the Corps Commander’s residence (Jinnah House) and a gate of GHQ in Rawalpindi.At least eight people were killed and nearly 300 injured during the unrest.
Over 1,900 PTI supporters were arrested across the country, and multiple cases were filed against party leaders and workers, including Khan himself.
