An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday sent PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan to jail on judicial remand in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots.

The Lahore Police arrested Shershah, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from outside his home on August 22. His brother Shahrez Khan, who was picked up the day before, was also handed over to police custody for eight days over the same allegations.

Lahore police presented Shershah before the court of ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill today upon the completion of his five-day physical remand.

Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, and Barrister Taimur Malik appeared as Shershah’s counsel, while Imtiaz Ahmad Sipra was the prosecutor.

Aleema, along with her sisters Uzma Khan and Noreen, appeared in the court, while Shershah was presented amid tight security.

The prosecution sought a 30-day physical remand, while the defence counsel requested that the suspect be discharged from the case. Judge Gill, rejecting the police request, sent Shershah on judicial remand.

Meanwhile, Aleema filed a bail plea before the ATC for Shershah through Advocate Umer.

“The suspect has been arrested on political motives,” the plea said, contending there was no evidence against Shershah. It requested the court to order the suspect’s release on bail.

According to today’s court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Shershah’s photogrammetry test was conducted, and a “wooden danda (baton)” was recovered from his possession. “Sufficient investigation stands concluded,” it said.

Judge Gill noted: “So far as investigation into the extent of social media accounts is concerned, in the present era of technology as well as digital devices, social media accounts of each and every person could be easily traced and recovered without the support of the accused.

“This court is of the further view that there is no sufficient ground available for further physical remand,” he added.

The judge ordered that Shershah be produced before the court on September 11 and directed the investigation officer to submit the charge sheet by then.

At the outset of the hearing, state prosecutor Sipra informed the judge that a baton was recovered from Shershah. However, he added, Shershah’s mobile, tear gas mask and social media accounts were yet to be recovered.

At this point, Advocate Umer asserted that his client was falsely accused and “his arrest in the case was illegal”. “The court may reject the police’s request for physical remand,” he said.

“After 27 months, Shershah was not served even a single notice to record his statement,” Umer added. He noted that a court had previously discharged PTI senior leader Dr Yasmin Rashid from a case of a similar nature.

“We provided a copy of the same court in which, on similar facts, Dr Yasmin Rashid was discharged from this case,” Barrister Malik said on X.

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.