A Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday approved the eight-day physical remand of Shahrez Khan, nephew of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, in a case linked to the May 9 Jinnah House attack.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Shahrez, son of Aleema Khanum and a well-known athlete and corporate executive, was arrested late Thursday in Lahore.
His detention triggered sharp condemnation from PTI, which termed the incident an “abduction” carried out by men in plain clothes.
During Friday’s proceedings, police sought a 30-day remand, arguing Shahrez was directly involved in the Jinnah House attack. DSP Asif Javed presented case records before ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul.
Defending Shahrez, PTI’s senior lawyers Salman Akram Raja and Malik Asif Ahmad Naswana, President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, argued their client had “no connection with PTI’s political matters” and was being targeted “only because he is former premier Imran Khan’s nephew.”
Salman Akram Raja contended that Shahrez had been arrested two years after the alleged offence and urged the court to discharge him from the case. Naswana stressed Shahrez’s reputation as an athlete with no political involvement.
Shahrez’s mother, Aleema Khanum, and aunt, Uzma Khanum, were also present in the courtroom, along with his father, Sohail Amir Khan. Security was tightened inside and outside the ATC during his appearance.
Soon after the arrest, the party leaders alleged Shahrez was “abducted from his bedroom” after doors were broken and tortured in front of his children, and the household staff were assaulted.
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram posted on X: “We demand his immediate and safe return. This is thuggery and oppression.”
Born in Lahore, Shahrez Khan studied at Aitchison College before completing his MBA at Oxford University. He is currently the regional head of Simba Global, an Australian textile and linen supplier, and is also recognised as an athlete.
The ATC remand has now placed him in police custody for further investigation until next week.
Reporter: Jamaluddin Jamali