An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday sent PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shahrez Khan to jail on judicial remand in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots.
Lahore Police picked up Shahrez, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from his mother’s Lahore residence on August 21. His brother Shershah Khan was also arrested the next day over similar allegations, and sent on physical remand and then to jail.
Lahore police presented Shahrez before the court of ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill today upon the completion of his eight-day physical remand.
Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared as Shahrez’s counsel, while Imtiaz Ahmad Sipra was present as the prosecutor.
Sipra sought a further 30-day physical custody of Shahrez, while Umer urged the court to discharge his client from the case. Judge Gill denied the police’s request and ordered that Shahrez be sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
“A cane has been recovered from the suspect’s possession,” the officer told the court, adding that Shahrez’s photogrammetry test had been conducted as well.
“Further investigation of the incident needs to be completed. Hence, further remand may be given,” Sipra said. He further said that Shahrez’s social media accounts also need to be verified, according to today’s court order, seen by media.com.
Meanwhile, Advocate Umer filed a bail plea for Shahrez before the ATC. “No recovery of any kind was done from the suspect. The investigation has been completed,” the petition contended.
Terming Shahrez’s arrest “illegal”, the plea requested the court to order the triathlete’s release.
‘In Chitral on May 9’
Shahrez’s lawyers submitted photocopies of affidavits of seven people who either travelled with him or were residing at Chitral on May 9, according to the court order.
“Learned defence counsels representing the accused during the course of arguments have tendered some photographs, affidavits as well as detail of foreign trips of the accused,” the court order noted, adding that the defence lawyers had argued that Shahrez was not in Lahore from May 7 to May 12, 2023 but in Chitral.
According to the order, the investigating officer was asked whether he had considered the evidence, to which he replied that the documents were presented at about 12am, hence he could not verify or investigate them.
“This court is of the view that verification of social media accounts, air travel history and participation of the accused in international sports events could easily be verified and searched out through Google, social media and newspapers, etc, without taking into custody of the accused on physical remand.”
Judge Gill directed that Shahrez be presented before the court on September 13, and ordered the IO to submit the charge sheet by then.
During the hearing, Advocate Umer contended that the suspect was not present in Lahore on May 9, 2023 but was with family and friends in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral.
“The statement of the hotel manager where he stayed is also available,” Umer said.
“The suspect has been involved in this [case] because he is the PTI founder’s nephew,” the lawyer claimed. He added that no statement of Shahrez’s inclusion in the case was part of the record.
“Aleema Khan raises her voice for the PTI founder’s release. Aleema Khan’s son has been arrested to silence her voice,” Umer contended.
Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have expressed their concerns over the arrests of Shahrez and Shershah, with the former terming them a “political witch-hunt”.
Shahrez’s wife has said her husband was in Chitral with her family on May 9, 2023, sharing purported pictures from the trip. At the same time, the PTI has challenged a video being shared of Shahrez, stating it was from the party’s public meeting in Kahna held on Sept 21, 2024, not from the 2023 riots.
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry had defended the arrests last week, saying they could not be chalked off as “fake, fabricated [or] politically motivated”.
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting Imran’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence.
Following the riots, the state launched a crackdown on the PTI, with thousands of protesters and top party leadership arrested. Scores of PTI leaders have recently been convicted in cases over the riots and disqualified from their parliamentary roles.
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