ATC grants 8-day physical remand of Imran Khan's nephew in May 9 case
Pakistan
Shahrez Azeem was arrested from his residence in Lahore in the May 9 arson and vandalism case.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s nephew and Aleema Khan’s son, Shahrez, was produced before an anti-terrorism court in the May 9 case, where the court accepted the police’s request and granted an eight-day physical remand.
Shahrez Azeem was arrested from his residence in Lahore in the May 9 arson and vandalism case. He was presented before Lahore’s anti-terrorism court, where Special Judge Manzar Ali Gill conducted the hearing.
Police argued that the accused was nominated in a supplementary statement in the Jinnah House attack case. They said he was arrested yesterday and that his phone and other belongings still need to be recovered.
Defense lawyer Salman Akram Raja questioned why it took the police 27 months to implicate him, arguing that the supplementary statement had been read in court over 1,500 times without his name ever appearing. He alleged that the arrest came immediately after Imran Khan was granted bail, calling it “clear malafide.”
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He further said that Shahrez Azeem is an international-level sportsman who has frequently traveled abroad and never been summoned in any case. He noted that Shahrez was in Chitral between May 6 and 13, demanding his immediate release and discharge.
Raja also reminded the court that it had previously held that such delayed nominations of suspects indicate bad faith, adding that Shahrez’s mother had already been discharged in the same case.
Meanwhile, police sought a 30-day physical remand of Shahrez Azeem, which Raja opposed as excessive.
The court remarked that it would review the supplementary file. Police presented the case record, with DSP Legal stating that Shahrez is not wanted in any case other than the Jinnah House attack.
