The mercy petitions of 19 individuals convicted in relation to the May 9 riots have been approved on humanitarian grounds, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Thursday. This development follows the military courts’ sentencing of 85 civilians involved in the 2023 riots.
On December 21, 2023, military courts sentenced 25 individuals to prison terms ranging from two to ten years for their roles in the May 9 events. A week later, 60 more individuals were handed similar jail terms.
According to the ISPR statement, “Following the promulgation of punishments for the May 9 convicts, they have exercised their right to appeal, requesting mercy or remission in their sentences.” The statement further mentioned that a total of 67 petitions were submitted, with 48 processed by the Courts of Appeal. The mercy petitions of 19 convicts were accepted on humanitarian grounds, in accordance with the law. The petitions of the remaining individuals will be decided in due course following the legal process.
The 19 convicts whose sentences were remitted include individuals involved in incidents across various regions, such as Peshawar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Mardan. Their original sentences, ranging from two years of rigorous imprisonment, have been pardoned as part of this mercy decision.
The full list of individuals granted relief is as follows:
- Muhammad Ayaz – Involved in the Main Gate FC Cantt Peshawar incident.
- Sami Ullah – Involved in the Bannu Cantt incident.
- Laeeq Ahmed – Involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
- Amjad Ali – Involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
- Yasir Nawaz – Involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident.
- Said Alam – Involved in the Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident.
- Zahid Khan – Involved in the PRC Mardan incident.
- Muhammad Suleman – Involved in the HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
- Hamza Sharif – Involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
- Muhammad Salman – Involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
- Asher Butt – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Muhammad Waqas – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Sufayan Idrees – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Muneeb Ahmed – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Muhammad Ahmed – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Muhammad Nawaz – Involved in the Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident.
- Muhammad Ali – Involved in the ISI Office Faisalabad incident.
- Muhammad Bilawal – Involved in the Jinnah House incident.
- Muhammad Ilyas – Involved in the HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident.
The military courts are expected to continue processing the remaining mercy petitions, in line with established legal procedures.
