Gujranwala ATC was first to convict 51 May 9 rioters

ISLAMABAD: US courts have convicted over 90 percent of arrested people involved in the Capitol Hill attack whereas even one percent of the May 9 attackers have not been convicted in Pakistan.

In March this year, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gujranwala became the first to sentence 51 people to five years in jail for attacking the cantonment area last year following Imran Khan’s arrest. In addition, more than 8,031 people were arrested for participating in countrywide attacks, according to May 9 special report produced before prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s led cabinet.

Whereas, by the end of 2021 after almost a year of the US Capitol Hill attack, 725 people were convicted with federal crimes pertaining to the Capitol Hill attack that rose to a thousand by the second anniversary of the attack and to over 1,200 by the third anniversary of the incident.

More importantly, the Capitol Hill attack in the US caused financial losses of over half a billion rupees while on the other hand, the May 9 attacks in Pakistan caused over 17 billion rupees loss, according to the estimations reported by authorities of both the countries.

According to a report by TIME, the longest sentence given to anyone charged in the January 6 riot to date went to far-right Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was sentenced on May 25 to 18 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in helping orchestrate the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol.

On the other hand, in Pakistan in March this year, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Gujranwala became the first one to sentence 51 people to five years in jail for attacking the cantonment area following Imran Khan’s arrest.

Whereas, over 500 people were arrested from Islamabad and Sindh, 2,900 were arrested from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5,000 from Punjab and 48 people were arrested from Balochistan.

A total of 493 FIRs were registered under ATA and others, of which 282 are in Punjab, 63 in Sindh, 102 in KP, 17 Balochistan and 29 in Islamabad. A total of 8,031 arrests have been made i.e. 4,524 in Punjab, 497 in Sindh, 2,218 KP, 218 Balochistan and 574 ICT. The government has made 3,261 detentions of which 2,609 are in Punjab, 152 Sindh, 464 KP, 21 Balochistan and 15 in ICT.

The caretaker government’s report claimed that on May 9, 14 people died and 423 were injured, the majority of which were police and LEA personnel. Further, 40 public and 15 private buildings were damaged, and 159 vehicles, including 137 public vehicles, were destroyed or damaged. It said that these protests caused an estimated immediate financial loss of nearly Rs17 billion.

According to the American news reports, the Capitol Hill attack had cost them financial loss of around 2.7 million dollars which is equivalent to 666 million rupees or over half a billion rupees.

A total of 1,265 arrests were made in the US following the Capitol Hill attack and 1,200 of those have already been announced with convictions according to their involvement in the January 6 attacks by criminal courts in the US.

As of today, approximately 1,186 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 116 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.

As many as 71 defendants have been charged with destruction of government property, and approximately 56 defendants have been charged with theft of government property.

More than 332 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.

Approximately 57 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, either: (a) conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, (b) conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, (c) conspiracy to injure an officer, or (d) some combination of the three.