An anti -terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Wednesday granted the bond to the nephew of the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, Shahrez Khan in a case related to the attack of the Jinnah house during the disturbances of May 9, 2023.
Atc Manzer Ali Gill judge announced the verdict that was reserved today in Shahrez’s bail request and ordered his release subject to paying a guarantee bonus established in RS100,000. Shahrez’s lawyer, lawyer Rana Mudassar, confirmed the development for Dawn.com And PTI Taimur Malik’s lawyer also said the same.
Lahore police had collected Shahrez, son of Imran’s sister, Aleema Khan, from the residence of her mother’s Lahore on August 21. His brother Shershah Khan was also arrested the next day by similar accusations, and sent to physical remanites and then to jail.
Shahrez was sent to a 14 -day judicial prison by Lahore ATC on August 30.
During today’s audience about Shahrez’s bail, lawyer Mudassar argued that the athlete was accused of inciting party workers, adding that the investigation was approached from multiple angles, with the geographical also carried out, and yet no evidence was found against the Imran’s nephew.
“Everything is clear in the Challan, he mentions suspected named and without a name, but Shahrez is not mentioned at all, no investigator gave any statement. He was arrested after 28 months and his mother, the sister of the founder of PTI, is raising her voice for her release. This arrest was made to suppress her voice,” he said.
The lawyer argued that Shahrez was in Chitral during the riots and several people had submitted sworn statements in this regard. He said the athlete should also go abroad to compete in a sporting event.
Amnesty International and the Pakistan Human Rights Commission had expressed their concerns about arrests, and the first described a “political witch hunt.”
Shahrez’s wife said her husband was in Chitral with her family on May 9, 2023, sharing the alleged photos of the trip. At the same time, the PTI had challenged a shared video of Shahrez, stating that it was from the public meeting of the Kahna party held on September 21, 2024, not of the 2023 disturbances.
Minister of State for the Interior Tallal Chaudhry had defended the arrests, saying that they could not be attributed as “false, manufactured [or] Politically motivated. ”
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, who protested the arrest of Imran, organized violent protests throughout the country, destroying military facilities and state buildings, while attacked the residence of the commander of Lahore’s body.
After the riots, the State launched an offensive against the PTI, with thousands of protesters and the leadership of the best arrested games. Dozens of PTI leaders have been recently convicted in cases by the riots and disqualified of their parliamentary roles.
