LAHORE: Barrister Hassaan Khan Niazi, a nephew of incarcerated PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, has approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) against his handover to the army and subsequent trial proceedings in connection with the May 9 riots.

A petition filed through his counsel contended that following his arrest in the Jinnah House attack case, Mr Niazi was never produced before an anti-terrorism court or any other civilian court. Instead, the Sarwar Road police allegedly handed him over to the military without any lawful authority.

The petition alleged that the petitioner was selectively targeted among hundreds of individuals named in the same FIR and unlawfully transferred to military custody.

It urges the court to declare that the transfer of the petitioner’s custody from Sarwar Road police station to the 54 EME battalion commander, without any judicial proceedings or court order, was unlawful and of no legal effect.

Warrants for KP CM’s arrest out in liquor case

The petition also asked the court to declare the letter demanding the petitioner’s custody as being without jurisdiction, along with all subsequent judgments, orders, proceedings, or actions, including court-martial proceedings, as void.

Furthermore, the petition requested the court to direct the authorities either to release the petitioner or to produce him before an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, in connection with FIR (96 of 2023) related to Jinnah House attack, for further proceedings in accordance with the law.

A two-judge bench is scheduled to hear the petition on Thursday (tod­ay) as an “objection case”, as objections were raised by the registrar’s office regarding its maintainability.

Mr Niazi was handed over to the military for trial in 2023 and was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment later in December.

The military, through its respective commanding officers, had sought the custody of hundreds of suspects for trial under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, in connection with attacks on military installations, including the residence of the Lahore corps commander.

The suspects’ custody was sought from the respective ATCs under Section 549 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The federal government had approved their trials by military courts for their alleged involvement in the attacks.

The ATCs were informed in writing that initial investigations found the suspects involved in offenses under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, read with Section 2(1)(d) and Section 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.

An application submitted by the commanding officer stated that, by committing these offenses, the suspects became subject to the Pakistan Army Act and were therefore exclusively liable to be inquired into, investigated, and tried by military authorities in a court martial.

Arrest warrants

Meanwhile, a court in Islamabad issued an arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in the liquor and arms seizure case, directing authorities to produce him before the court on Sept 17.

Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti issued the warrant after CM Gandapur failed to appear during the hearing, nor was any counsel initially present on his behalf. The court adjourned proceedings until September 17 with directions for his arrest.

Later, CM Gandapur’s lawyer appeared and remarked, “Sir, you have issued my client’s arrest warrant,” to which the judge responded, “Produce the accused and I will cancel the warrant.” The lawyer argued that his client had been targeted in the media and had become lenient in his appearances, but the court refused to entertain the plea. He requested the court to withdraw the arrest warrants against the chief minister.

Rejecting the request, the court upheld its earlier order, maintaining that Ali Amin Gandapur must be produced at the next hearing.The case against the chief minister was registered at the Bhara Kahu police station in 2016. In July this year, the judge issued warrants for the arrest of the KP CM in the same case, but later retracted them after the PTI leader surrendered before the court.

Malik Asad in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2025