• Judge notes wife, mother had not first approached police under custody rules
• Petition disposed of with directions for SHO to follow legal requirements

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday directed the mother and wife of jailed PTI leader Hammad Azhar to approach police for permission to visit him, observing that they had not followed the required procedure before seeking court intervention.

ATC-IV Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram Khan passed the order on Sept 17 while disposing of a petition filed by Azhar’s mother, Ishrat Azhar, and wife, Marriam Hammad, seeking permission to meet him, along with access to legal counsel.

The petitioners had requested directions for the authorities to allow them to meet Azhar, who is currently confined in police lock-up on physical remand in a May 9 case.

During the hearing, the judge noted that the prosecution’s counsel had no response when asked about Rule 26.28 of the Police Rules, 1934, which governs family and legal access to individuals in police custody.

The court observed that the petitioners had earlier approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) through a similar writ petition, which was later dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to seek relief from the appropriate forum.

The ATC further noted that the case record did not show that the petitioners had first submitted an application to the police under Rule 26.28 before approaching the court.

In light of this, the judge directed Azhar’s mother and wife to submit a written application to the station house officer (SHO) of Sarwar Road police station for permission to meet him.

The court instructed that, if approached, the SHO must strictly comply with the requirements of Rule 26.28 of the Police Rules, 1934. With these observations, the ATC disposed of the petition.

Advocate Zain Sheikh appeared for the petitioners, while Deputy District Public Prosecutor Nayyar Naveed represented the state.

Hammad Azhar was arrested in Multan earlier this month and later handed over to Lahore police in connection with cases related to the May 9 riots, including the attack on Jinnah House.

His mother and wife had moved the ATC against the police, alleging that they were being denied access to him and that his lawyer was also not being allowed to meet him.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026