An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has granted police five days of physical remand for Sher Shah, the nephew of PTI founder Imran Khan, in the Jinnah House attack case. The decision by Judge Manzar Ali Gill came after the prosecution argued that Sher Shah was present at the crime scene where weapons were used and was identifiable in video evidence. They requested a 30-day remand to recover his social media accounts, a plea the court partially accepted.
The arrest was vehemently contested by defense counsel Salman Akram Raja, who pointed out that it occurred 27 months after the May 9 incident. He reminded the court that Sher Shah had been present in the same court a day earlier with his brother without being apprehended and argued that the judiciary had previously declared such delayed arrests illegal. Raja urged the court to dismiss the police request and discharge his client.
This ruling closely follows the court’s decision to grant an eight-day physical remand for Sher Shah’s brother, Shahrez Azeem, who was arrested a day prior in the same case. Police claimed Shahrez was nominated in a supplementary statement and that his phone needed to be recovered. His lawyer similarly challenged the timing, questioning why his name appeared now after the statement had been read in court over 1,500 times, alleging “clear malafide” intent following Imran Khan’s bail approval.
The defendants’ mother, Aleema Khan, alleged that plainclothesmen and police officials detained her sons, claiming the arrests are a tactic to suppress Imran Khan’s political message. She stated her family is prepared for sacrifice and will not “bow to pressure,” framing their ordeal as a struggle for what she termed “real freedom.” The cases highlight the ongoing political tensions and legal battles surrounding the events of May 9.
