WHICHEVER way one looks at it, the recent arrest of two of former prime minister Imran Khan’s nephews defies reason. Why them, and why now? As the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has pointed out, “The fact that the arrests were made 27 months after the incident is difficult to understand for any independent observer, having occurred at a time when the trials of other accused persons have long been underway or already concluded”. At least one of the nephews was, as his family pointed out, nowhere near the violence that unfolded at Jinnah House in Lahore on May 9, 2023. In fact, his family has attempted to prove with pictures that he was vacationing in Chitral. The manner of his arrest also raised questions. Lahore police had initially been unaware he was picked up. It was hours later that the country was told he had been a wanted man since 2023.

A day later, his brother faced the same ordeal. He was swept up from outside his home in Lahore, and later declared to have been arrested in a May 9 violence case. The prosecution’s argument, while seeking remand for the latter, was that he had “been seen” in a video of the protests. The timing of these arrests also complicates the picture: the first nephew was picked up hours after the Supreme Court granted bail to Mr Khan in eight cases pertaining to the May 9 riots; the second, shortly after the first had been dispatched to police remand. Some say the purpose of these arrests may be to demonstrate that the state’s position on May 9 remains unchanged. If so, this is a counterproductive way to make the point. High-handedness usually signals desperation rather than control; it also pushes public sympathy towards the victims. If the state wishes to ‘make an example’ of the May 9 protests, it should rely on evidence and sound legal arguments, not brute force.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2025