An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday granted the police a five-day physical remand of PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan 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 Friday. His brother Shahrez Khan, who was picked up on Thursday, was also handed over to police custody yesterday for eight days over the same allegations.

ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill presided over today’s hearing, where PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared as Shershah’s counsel and Imtiaz Sipra as the prosecutor.

The prosecution sought a 30-day physical remand, while the defence counsel requested that the suspect be discharged from the case. Judge Gill then granted the police Shershah’s five-day custody.

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.

Addressing a press conference outside the Lahore ATC, Aleema said her sons had not committed any crime to warrant arrest.

“What is their crime? Their crime is that they are Imran Khan’s nephews … that they are Imran Khan’s family,” she said.

She said that the arrests aimed to put “pressure” on Imran and his family, but added that they were not succumbing to this pressure.

“This is a fight of every Pakistani — it is a duty of every Pakistani — that for this country, its freedom … they play their part,” Aleema said.

She added, “We can play our part by standing with Imran Khan, because he is standing for Pakistan.”

Amnesty International slammed the arrests as part of a “political witch-hunt aimed at intimidating the family members of political opponents” and called on the authorities to immediately release the siblings.

“Their arrest is part of a larger pattern of politically motivated targeting and detention against the PTI to crush political opposition and muzzle dissent in the country. Targeting family members of opposition leaders and activists by the government is becoming an increasingly common practice in Pakistan and must stop.”

With both Shahrez and Shershah now in police custody, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “alarmed” by the arrest of Imran’s two nephews.

“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 been long underway or already concluded,” the HRCP said in a statement.

The commission said it was “deeply concerned about the further backsliding of citizens’ rights and expresses its disappointment in the policing and legal system, particularly when it comes to dealing with political opponents”.

“We demand that the authorities ensure transparency and the rule of law in all such matters,” the HRCP added.

Shahrez’s wife, Maria, wrote on her newly made X account that the triathlete was in Chitral on May 9, 2023 at her family home.

She shared a purported image of the metadata of a group photo taken in Chitral that day of Shahrez with her family and friends.

Imran’s son Kasim Khan, who along with his brother Sulaiman has been more vocal in recent months about his imprisoned father, had termed his cousins’ arrests as “blatant state repression”.

Jemima Goldsmith, the former spouse of Imran, said that no state should be allowed to “target families to settle political scores”.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said in an interview on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’ that as far as the arrest of Shahrez and Shershah was concerned, questions should be raised in a court of law as opposed to against the government.

“Where will these questions be raised? Will they be raised against the government? They should be raised in the court that detained them,” he said.

When pushed on whether politicians should be questioned on politically-motivated arrests, Sanaullah recalled when he was arrested and jailed during the PTI’s tenure in a drugs case.

“We used to question the PTI because they used to politically victimise us — when 15-20 kilogrammes of heroin was found in my car, I didn’t raise those questions with the party, I did it in a court of law,” he explained. “We got relief from the court, not from raising questions in public.”

The adviser, who previously served as an interior minister, stated that in order to create an environment to talk, there cannot be any precondition to drop legal proceedings.

“Has there ever been any dialogue like this, where someone has committed a criminal offence, but their cases need to be withdrawn to negotiate?” Sanaullah asked

“If this is a condition, then present it. As far as Imran Khan’s release is concerned, the PTI’s negotiating committee told us that his release was not up for discussion. This issue (Shahrez and Shershah) can also be discussed if they come to the table.”

When pressed on the possibility of Shahrez having an alibi, Sanaullah highlighted the issue that if there was a picture of him in Chitral or any other country, then the prosecution had photographs of a man standing on a burning car.

“This photo has been on social media for some time,” he said. “They have been in court; they can argue alibis and make statements there. I do not want to be involved because it is not my position to find out the truth.”

The adviser noted, however, that if there was any politically-motivated case against them, then it was “absolutely political victimisation”.

“However, if they were detained in a criminal case or for violence, then the matter will be discussed in court. Then we will see how much truth there is,” he emphasised.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that individuals nominated and wanted in May 9 cases must be jailed and there was “no escape” from legal accountability.

“It is not a matter of personal desire — it is the state’s responsibility to arrest absconders and proclaimed offenders,” she said in a statement without naming either of the two sons.

Condemning the attack on Jinnah House, she remarked, “Those who disrespected a military officer’s uniform are now trying to play the victim card and hiding behind the excuse of ‘privacy’ and ‘sanctity of home’.“

She reiterated that the Punjab government was acting strictly within the law and no one would be considered above it.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry had defended the arrests yesterday, saying they could not be chalked off as “fake, fabricated [or] politically motivated”.

He asserted that both siblings were present at the scene of the Jinnah House vandalism.

ATC hearing

Similar to the request made in Shahrez’s case, the prosecution today sought Shershah’s 30-day physical remand in the Jinnah House attack case registered at the Sarwar Road police station.

“The suspect was present at the crime scene. A weapon was used at the site,” Sipra told the court, adding that Shershah was allegedly seen in a video from the incident.

“The suspect’s social media accounts have to be recovered,” he contended.

On the other hand, Raja argued that the arrest was “illegal”, noting it was made 27 months after the incident.

“The suspect had appeared in this same court yesterday with Shahrez and was arrested the same day,” the PTI counsel said. “Where was the police for 27 months?” he asked.

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Raja, citing the Supreme Court’s previous directives related to videos, contended that a video had “no value [as evidence] till the person who recorded it appeared in court and spoke of its authenticity”.

Aleema’s lawyer, Advocate Rana Mudassir, detailed that Shershah was arrested while on his way home after appearing for his brother’s case hearing.

“This case is like Shahrez’s case. We request that the court discharge Shershah from the case,” Mudassir pleaded.

Additional reporting by Imran Gabol.