Gilgit, December 31, 2024: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday sentenced former Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Khalid Khurshid to 34 years in prison for issuing threats against security agencies.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rs600,000 on the former chief minister. It also directed the Inspector General of Police to ensure his immediate arrest and transfer to prison. Furthermore, the ATC ordered the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to block Khurshid’s computerized national identity card (CNIC).
The case stems from a public address delivered during a PTI rally on May 26, 2024, in which Khurshid allegedly threatened security agencies, Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chief Secretary, and the Chief Election Commissioner with severe consequences. An FIR was subsequently filed against him at the City Police Station under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Khurshid, who remained an absconder throughout the legal proceedings, was notably absent from the trial.
Elected as chief minister in 2020, Khurshid faced disqualification by the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court in July 2023 for submitting a fake degree from the University of London in his nomination papers. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) had verified the degree as fake after an official inquiry.
Khurshid joined PTI in 2018 and rose through the party ranks, serving as the divisional president of Diamer-Astore before assuming the office of chief minister.
