Imran Khan's Two Nephews Arrested In Connection With May 9 Riots

Two nephews of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have been arrested by Pakistan's Punjab police for their alleged involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots. In a statement, police said that they have arrested Shahrez Khan and Shershah Khan -- sons of Aleema Khan -- for their involvement in the May 9 riots.

Shahrez was arrested on Thursday during a raid at his house in Lahore, while Shershah was nabbed on the way to his home on Friday afternoon.

The Lahore anti-terrorism court (ATC) handed over Shahrez to police for an eight-day physical remand in connection with a May 9 riots case, more than two years after his name surfaced in the investigation.

The investigating officer told the court that Shahrez was arrested in relation to the Jinnah House attack on May 9.

Shahrez graduated from Oxford University and at present, he works as the regional head at Simba Global, a big linen supplier based in Australia and is also a triathlete.

Shahrez's counsel, Salman Akram Raja, argued that his client had never been named in the case, branding the arrest an act of "harassment" as he (Shahrez) was in Chitral, (and) not in Lahore during the May 9 riots.

"Shahrez had never been arrested before, despite being in the country for 27 months. The move is a reaction to the approval of Imran's bail pleas," he said.  Talking to reporters, Raja said this is a message to the nation that there is no law in this country. "This is madness and a well-thought-out conspiracy. We have to stand with the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and his family." On Thursday, the Supreme Court accepted Imran Khan's bail petitions in eight cases related to the May 9 riots.

The 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases.

Aleema Khan, Imran Khan's sister, has been openly criticising the military establishment.  Earlier, Aleema Khan told the media that Imran Khan asked his party members to hold Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir accountable if anything happens to him in jail.

Lambasting the arrest of her sons, Aleema Khan said: "Last night, several plainclothes armed men stormed my residence in Lahore. They brutally assaulted our staff, harassed my daughter-in-law, and forcibly took away my son, Shahrez Khan, in front of his two young daughters." For over three years, she said this fascist regime in Pakistan has unleashed a reign of terror, raiding thousands of homes, abducting and harassing countless innocent civilians. Yet, despite their brutality, they have failed to break Imran Khan.

"Our children understand that the struggle Imran Khan is leading is far greater than any one of us. He has set a remarkable standard of resilience against tyranny. These cowardly actions only expose the fear and desperation of the oppressors. We place our trust in Allah alone, seeking His protection and justice," Aleema Khan said.  Imran's other nephew, Hassan Niazi, has been convicted by a military court in a case related to the May 9 riots in which military and state buildings were attacked following the arrest of Imran Khan.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)