Category: 1. Pakistan

LAHORE: PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew and his sister Aleema Khan’s another son, Shershah, was arrested by the police in connection with a May 9 riots case in Lahore on Friday.

The arrest was confirmed by a senior superintendent of police (SSP) investigation, saying that the matter was under investigation, without providing further details.

The development came only a day after jailed Imran’s nephew Shahrez Khan was arrested in the Jinnah Attack House case related to the May 9 violence — a reference to the riots that broke out in the country following the arrest of PTI founder in a corruption case in 2023.

The PTI, on its official X handle, said that after Shahraiz, Aleema’s other son, Shershah, “has also been abducted”.

Earlier today, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore approved an eight-day physical remand of Shahrez Khan in connection with the May 9 Jinnah House attack case.

The court had earlier reserved its verdict on a police plea seeking a 30-day remand of Shahrez, who had been arrested on Wednesday night.

ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gul announced the order after hearing arguments from both sides.

During the proceedings, Advocate Salman Akram Raja, who represented the suspect, argued that his client had been arrested two years after the Jinnah House attack. He told the court that Shahrez’s mother, Aleema, had already been discharged from the same case and urged that the suspect should also be discharged.

Raja further questioned the police, asking what evidence they had against his client, maintaining that Shahrez had no connection with PTI’s political affairs. He again pressed the court to drop the charges against his client.

Police, however, opposed the request, saying that the suspect was involved in the Jinnah House attack in Lahore.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asif Javed presented the case record in court, affirming the suspect’s role in the incident.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its decision on the request for physical remand, announcing that the verdict would be delivered in a while.

Shahrez was taken into custody on Thursday, with police confirming the arrest early Friday after reports surfaced that he had been “taken by armed men” from his Lahore residence.

DIG Investigation Zeeshan Raza said Shahrez was wanted in connection with the May 9 cases and would be presented in court, stressing that “those involved in anti-state activities do not deserve any leniency.”

The PTI, however, described the arrest as an “abduction”. A party spokesperson claimed Shahrez was tortured in front of his two children and alleged that men in plain clothes broke into Aleema’s home, “harassing” the family and staff.

Raja, who is also PTI’s secretary-general, also wrote on X that Aleema’s residence had been “attacked” and her son “abducted.”

The Jinnah House attack was one of the most high-profile incidents during the May 9, 2023, riots, which erupted after the arrest of Imran in a corruption case. The protests saw PTI supporters target public and private property, attack military installations — including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and Jinnah House (the Lahore Corps Commander’s House) — and desecrate monuments of martyrs.

LONDON: Protesters supporting the group Palestine Action, which is banned in the UK, will withhold personal details from police officers, The Guardian reported on Friday.

Defend Our Juries, the group organizing demonstrations in support of Palestine Action in the UK, on Friday said the move will be part of a broader strategy to disrupt police stations and make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone at the protests.

Showing support for a proscribed group in the UK is a criminal offense and can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Palestine Action was banned earlier this year under terrorism laws following several incidents, including one where activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint on military planes.

Earlier this month, 532 people were arrested in Parliament Square for showing support for the group, with 212 refusing to give their details to police.

Defend Our Juries said a protest in London on Sept. 6 will go ahead if it can find 1,000 people to attend. It added that 2,500 people have expressed interest.

Those who sign up will be asked to sign a pledge saying: “I am committed to attending the mass-participation sign-holding action on 6 September 2025,” and “I understand that joining this action comes with risk of arrest and other legal consequences.”

They will also be asked not to comply with the “charade” of street bail, which requires them to give their details to the police, and instead insist on being “taken to a police station, which ensures the provision of immediate legal advice,” hindering the ability of officers to arrest people quickly.

Tim Crosland, a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, said: “The police were only able to arrest as many people as they did (in Parliament Square) because of their trick of using ‘street bail’ on a mass scale, meaning people arrested of terrorism offences were denied the free legal advice they are entitled to when taken to a police station.

“If 1,000 people sign the pledge to take part on 6 September, ensuring we have the critical mass we need for the action, and hundreds of them insist on their right to receive immediate free legal advice at a police station, the charade will be exposed.

“It will be practically impossible for the police to arrest 1,000 people taking part. Any law that is so obviously wrong that it meets mass public opposition quickly becomes unenforceable, as it was with the poll tax in 1990, and the government will have to scrap it.”

It comes after a man said he was dragged from his bed in the town of Hinckley and arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action after posting about the group on social media.

Matt Cobb, 52, said he was handcuffed and taken to a police station on Wednesday despite having never attended a protest.

He was held for six hours and questioned over posts he made on Facebook, before being released under investigation.

“This is a matter of human rights — not just the right to free speech but the rights of Palestinians as they are being murdered,” Cobb told The Independent.

“For the government to respond to this protest by banning the group that’s protesting is a terrifying development.

“If they are going to proscribe non-violent people for protesting against mass murder, they are tyrants.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper continues to insist the ban on Palestine Action is necessary, saying she has seen evidence of “ideas for further attacks” and the group is “not a non-violent organisation.”

But the ban is unpopular with supporters of the Labour government, with a Survation poll on Monday finding 70 percent of members oppose it.

Crosland said: “The government’s monumental waste of policing resources to criminalise cardboard sign-holding against genocide has already been widely condemned by politicians and public figures across the political spectrum.

“Now the Labour Party has turned against the ban, with more than 70 percent of its members opposed to it, and MPs are claiming to have been tricked by Cooper.”

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in islamabad on Friday morning, with regional secruity and counter-terrorism on the agenda, according to a statement released by the militarys media wing.

FM Wang Yi is in islamabad on an official visit to attend the sixth Pakistan-Chin Strategic Dialogue on Thursday. The dialogue concluded with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and FM Wang Yi laying the foundation on issues like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0 and reaffirming commitment to strong bilateral ties. 

The Chinese FM also met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

“I reiterated Pakistna’s firm resolve to further strengthen our All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and underlined the central role of CPEC in driving our socio-economic progress and enhancing regional connectivity,” wrote PM Shehbaz on X (formerly Twitter) after their meeting. 

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) released a statment on COAS Munir’s meeting with the Chinese FM. “Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen the strategic partnership and enhance coordination at regional and international forums.”

The two parties engaged in dialogue focused on regional secruity, counter-terrorism and matters of mutual interest.

Photo Courtesy: ISPR 

The meeting ended with Wang Yi reiterating China’s “steadfast support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and development”.

COAS Munir and FM Wang Yi parted ways establishing “a shared commitment to advance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region”.

Last month, COAS Munir was in Beijing, where the Chinese leadership commended Pakistan Army’s role in ensuring peace in the region. They declared the Pakistan Army a “cornerstone of resilience” and a vital contributor to stability in the region.

The Lahore Police on Thursday arrested Shahrez Khan, the nephew of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a case related to the May 9 violence. An anti-terrorism court later handed him to the police for eight days of custody.

Following Imran’s arrest in May 2023, his party Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) held nationwide protests on May 9 that turned violent. His supporters stormed several Pakistani military installations, including official residences of army commanders and the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi. That’s known as the ‘May 9 case’.

The police have accused Shahrez of being part of the attack on Jinnah House, the official residence of the Corps Commander of the Pakistan Army’s 4 Corps in Lahore, on May 9, 2023 — he has been arrested after more than two years of the alleged offence.

The Express Tribune reported PTI leaders as saying that Shahrez was arrested on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. They said that the arrest was made after a group of unidentified individuals entered forcibly entered the house. They said that the household staff were assaulted, family members were harassed, and Shahrez was taken away from his bedroom in front of his children.

After his ouster in 2022 in a trust vote, Imran fell out of the favour with the army. He accused the Army of conspiring with the then-Opposition parties and the United States to bring his government down.

Since fall fallout, Imran and his family have since been slapped with dozens of cases. He has more than 100 cases against him and has been in jail continuously for more than two years.

Shahrez is an Oxford University graduate and works as the regional head at Simba Global, a big linen supplier based in Australia and is also a triathlete, according to Dawn.

Lahore Police on Friday confirmed that another son of Aleema Khan, sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, was taken into custody from his Lahore residence, a day after his brother was arrested in connection with the May 9 riots.

The deputy investigation of Lahore Police confirmed to Dawn.com that Shershah Khan, akin to his brother Shahrez Khan, was also arrested today for his involvement in the May 9 riots.

Aleema’s lawyer, Advocate Rana Mudassir Umar, said that “Shershah was taken from his house after his appearance at a Lahore anti-terrorism court in relation to his brother’s case”.

The PTI, in a post on X, called the incident an “abduction” and lamented that “the rule of law has been replaced with the law of the jungle”.

The move comes a day after PTI announced that men in plainclothes had “abducted” Aleema’s son from her residence. Lahore police later announced that Shahrez had been arrested in connection with a May 9 case.

Aleema addressed the arrest on social media this morning, saying, “(The policemen) brutally assaulted our staff, harassed my daughter-in-law, and forcibly took away my son, Shahrez Khan, in front of his two young daughters.”

She added, “For over three years, this fascist regime in Pakistan has unleashed a reign of terror, raiding thousands of homes, abducting and harassing countless innocent civilians.”

However, she said that it had not broken Imran and that he had set a “remarkable standard of resilience against tyranny”.

Speaking on the incident today, Aleema addressed the notion that the move was an attempt to scare the PTI.

“Do we look like we will be scared of such things?” she said.

She added, “In every FIR (first information report), it is written: ‘Aleema Khan comes bringing Imran Khan’s message’. So if we have to bring Imran Khan’s message in every FIR, we will absolutely do that. We will absolutely be his voice and give his complete message.”

On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting Imran’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested.

Lahore ATC judge sends Shahrez on 8-day physical remand

Meanwhile, a Lahore anti-terrorism court (ATC) sent Shahrez on an eight-day physical remand. The suspect was presented in the Lahore ATC today before Judge Manzar Ali Gul.

The investigating officer told the judge that Shahrez was arrested in relation to the Jinnah House attack on May 9. He added that the suspect was first named in the case on September 23, 2023, in supplementary statements.

To this, Shahrez’s counsel, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, alleged that his client had never been named in the case, branding the arrest an act of “harassment”.

He questioned why he had never been arrested before, despite being in the country for 27 months. The legal counsel called the move a “reaction to the approval of Imran’s bail pleas”.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court accepted Imran’s bail petitions in eight cases related to the May 9 riots. The PTI founder has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail since August 2023 in cases related to the selling of state gifts and a £190 million graft case, while he faces pending trials related to the May 9 riots.

The investigation officer filed an application in the court for a 30-day physical remand for police investigation; however, the court approved only eight days and directed the police to present Shahrez at the next hearing.

Raja, speaking to the media outside the court, said Shahrez was “falsely implicated”. He vowed to fight against the case, saying, “We will go to every court.”

“This is a message to the nation that there is no law in this country,” he said, adding that “cases are being fabricated”.

Questioning the validity of the case, Raja alleged that during the events of May 9, Shahrez was in Chitral.

“This is madness and a well-thought-out conspiracy,” he added. “We have to stand with the founder of PTI and his family.”

The visit centres on a bilateral foreign minister-level meeting, with both countries preparing to sign six to seven agreements and MoUs

TBS Report

22 August, 2025, 03:50 pm

Last modified: 22 August, 2025, 03:58 pm

File Photo: Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar speaks during a press conference in Islamabad. Photo: AFP/File

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File Photo: Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar speaks during a press conference in Islamabad. Photo: AFP/File

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow (23 August) afternoon on a special flight for a two-day official visit.

The visit centres on a bilateral foreign minister-level meeting, with both countries preparing to sign six to seven agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), reports Samakal.

The minister will be received at the airport by Dr Md Nazrul Islam, secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (West and East).

Tomorrow evening, the Pakistani High Commission in Dhaka will host a reception where Dar is expected to meet Bangladeshi academics, politicians, and civil society members separately.

The trip follows recent high-level meetings on strengthening economic cooperation. Bangladesh will form a new Trade and Investment Commission and revive the long-dormant Bangladesh-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission.

Finalised deals include visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, a cultural exchange MoU, cooperation between foreign service academies, a joint trade and investment group, and MoUs on strategic studies and state news agency cooperation.

Talks are also underway for MoUs between quality control bodies such as BSTI and Pakistan’s Halal Authority, and between the agricultural research institutions of both nations.

Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin said yesterday’s (21 August) meeting with Pakistan’s Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan focused on lifting anti-dumping duties on hydrogen peroxide, boosting market access, and drafting a Bangladesh-Pakistan Joint Trade Roadmap.

The Advisory Council Committee yesterday approved visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders in a meeting at the Chief Adviser’s Office, finalising the deal ahead of the minister’s visit.

LAHORE:

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday handed over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s nephew, Shahrez Khan, to police for eight days physical remand in connection with a May 9 riots case, more than two years after his name surfaced in the investigation.

Shahrez was arrested on the evening of August 21 from his residence, According to PTI leaders, the arrest occurred late on Wednesday night when a group of unidentified individuals entered Aleema Khan’s home by force. Party officials claimed that household staff were assaulted, family members harassed, and Shahrez taken from his bedroom in front of his children.

Police later implicated him in the Jinnah House attack case through two supplementary statements filed on September 23, 2023. He was produced before ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gill, where police sought a 30-day physical remand for further investigation and recovery of material allegedly in his possession.

The defence, led by senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja, strongly contested the request, terming Shahrez’s arrest after 27 months “ridiculous”. Raja argued that the accused had no political involvement and was being “roped in without evidence”. He told the court that Shahrez had been in Chitral between May 6 and 13, 2023, and pointed out that Aleema—Shahrez’s mother—had already been discharged from the same case.

Raja further argued that “such an extensive delay in arresting someone reflects mala fide intent”.

Read More: Imran’s nephew ‘picked up’ in Lahore raid: PTI

During proceedings, the ATC judge inquired from the investigating officer about Shahrez’s alleged role.

The police acknowledged that the accused was not wanted in any other May 9-related case but the prosecution maintained that his name appeared in multiple records.

Defence lawyers maintained that Shahrez was an athlete and he was being unnecessarily implicated. This would “send a bad message internationally,” contended the lawyers. 

The PTI insists that he had no involvement in political activities and was being targeted solely because of his family ties.

The party has accused the government of systematically targeting Imran’s relatives and supporters in an effort to further dismantle PTI’s political base.

 

The Sindh government has approved the recruitment of 2,000 Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) in the police investigation wing in a move aimed at strengthening law enforcement and improving the justice system.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, attended by IG Sindh, the Additional Chief Secretary for Home, the Secretary Services, and other senior officials.

Chief Secretary Shah emphasized that boosting the police’s investigative capacity would build public trust and ensure more effective law enforcement. “This is a key step toward improving the investigative capabilities of the police force,” he said, adding that a strong investigation system is crucial for swift justice and crime reduction.

The chief secretary also directed officials to remove any obstacles in the recruitment process to ensure timely induction.

Speaking at the meeting, IG Sindh welcomed the decision, noting that the addition of ASIs would enhance the quality of investigations, enabling timely justice and stronger action against criminal elements.

The move comes as Sindh Police’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) recently issued a new edition of its “Grey Book,” featuring profiles of 81 highly wanted suspects involved in cases of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping for ransom, police encounters, and armed robberies. The updated Grey Book is set to be distributed across law enforcement agencies to assist in identifying and apprehending dangerous criminals in the province.