LAHORE: Lahore Police on Friday confirmed the arrest of Shershah Khan, the younger son of Aleema Khanum — sister of PTI founder Imran Khan — from his residence, a day after his elder brother, Shahrez Khan, was also taken into custody in connection with the May 9 riots.
Police officials stated that Shershah was detained after his appearance before an anti-terrorism court in Lahore in relation to his brother’s case. Advocate Rana Mudassir Umar, Aleema’s lawyer, alleged that the arrest was carried out unlawfully.
The PTI, in a statement on X, denounced the detention as an “abduction” and accused the authorities of replacing “rule of law with the law of the jungle”. Aleema also condemned the arrests, alleging that police raided her residence, assaulted staff members, harassed her daughter-in-law, and forcibly took away her son Shahrez in front of his two young daughters.
She added that despite such actions, “Imran Khan has set a remarkable standard of resilience against tyranny,” and vowed that she would continue to carry his message.
Meanwhile, Shahrez Khan was produced before a Lahore anti-terrorism court, where Judge Manzar Ali Gul handed him over to police on an eight-day physical remand in connection with the Jinnah House attack case of May 9. The investigating officer had sought a 30-day remand, which was rejected by the court.
PTI Secretary General and Shahrez’s counsel, Salman Akram Raja, termed the arrest “false and politically motivated”, alleging that his client was not even present in Lahore during the May 9 events. He linked the arrests to the Supreme Court’s recent decision granting bail to Imran Khan in multiple cases.
On May 9, 2023, violent protests erupted across the country following Imran Khan’s arrest, during which military installations and state buildings were vandalised. Thousands of PTI workers and leaders were arrested in its aftermath.
