Pakistan Jails 108 PTI Members Over 2023 Protests, Including Top Opposition Leader

Pakistan has jailed 108 members of Imran Khan’s PTI party over 2023 anti-military protests, including opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan. PTI condemned the verdicts as politically driven. Despite Khan’s imprisonment, he remains popular. PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in 2024 but were blocked from forming a government.

Pakistan has sentenced 108 members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, to prison for their involvement in the 2023 protests against the military. The sentences were handed down by an anti-terrorism court and mark a significant blow to the party’s political strength.

Violent protests had erupted across the country in May 2023, following the arrest of Khan during a court appearance on corruption charges. In the two years since the unrest, authorities have issued dozens of sentences, but Thursday’s convictions are among the most consequential. They include a 10-year prison term for opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan, one of PTI’s most prominent figures.

The rulings also resulted in the disqualification of six PTI lawmakers from their parliamentary seats, intensifying what the opposition describes as a political crackdown.

PTI strongly condemned the court’s decision on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating:
“For the first time in Pakistan's judicial history, such a sad and shameful incident occurred that the leaders of the opposition in both houses [of parliament] were punished solely on the basis that they were loyal allies of Imran Khan's political narrative, public representation, and constitutional struggle.”

The party vowed to appeal the verdicts, calling the move undemocratic and politically motivated.

Khan’s media advisor, Zulfi Bukhari, also criticized the sentences, describing the day as “a black day for democracy,” according to the AFP news agency.
“Convicting opposition leaders one after another is not a good omen for any democratic system, and it will seriously damage our already fragile democracy,” Bukhari added.

Imran Khan, a former international cricket star turned political leader, has been imprisoned since August 2023. Despite his incarceration, he remains an immensely popular figure in Pakistan. He continues to face over 150 charges, ranging from terrorism to leaking state secrets — all of which he and his supporters maintain are politically driven.

The arrest of Khan on 9 May 2023 sparked a wave of violence and unrest, with thousands of his supporters clashing with security forces and storming government buildings and military installations. At least ten people were killed during the protests, prompting a harsh government response and a widespread crackdown on PTI.

Despite the crackdown, PTI-aligned candidates running as independents in the 2024 National Assembly elections won the most seats. However, they were ultimately blocked from forming a government, deepening concerns over political fairness and democratic backsliding in the country.