Lahore police on Thursday night raided the residence of jailed former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, arresting her son Shahrez Khan for his alleged involvement in the two-year-old May 9 rioting case.

 

Shahrez's friends, who accompanied him on the trip, however, exclusively told The Current that Shahrez was not even in Lahore on the day authorities claim he attacked Jinnah House – the residence of Lahore’s corps commander.

 

Shahrez was “picked up” from his residence in front of his wife and kids in a late-night raid at their Lahore residence, his father told media persons during a brief chat following what Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said was an “abduction”.

 

With police confirming the arrest shortly after, saying he was arrested for his involvement in the ransacking of Jinnah House on May 9, 2023, Shahrez was on Friday morning presented before an anti-terror court that sent him on an eight-day physical remand.

 

Amid concerns and criticism from PTI quarters over “unfounded” action against a person “who has nothing to do with his uncle or mother’s political agenda”, family sources shared with The Current pictures and videos that showed Shahrez on a trip to Chitral from May 6 to May 12.

 

“Shahrez was in Chitral on a friends and family trip as May 9 events unfolded back in 2023. His friends returned to Lahore on May 10, but he stayed back along with his wife who is from Chitral,” they said and shared metadata of pictures and videos from the trip, as well as WhatsApp messages with timestamps, which The Current independently verified.

 

The claim was echoed by PTI’s Salman Akram Raja, who said the arrest proved there was “no rule of law” in the country.

 

Speaking to journalists following Shahrez’s court appearance, Raja said the jailed former premier’s nephew had been “falsely implicated” in the case.

 

“He remained in Lahore for 27 months and was never summoned even once. This sends a message to the nation that there is no rule of law in this country,” he said.

 

Raja went on to say that hundreds of people faced legal proceedings over the course of the case with no action against Shahrez. “This is panic-driven […] every case is being fabricated for this calculated conspiracy.”

 

He also claimed the action against Shahrez was “retaliation” against relief granted to the PTI founder by the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday.

 

It may be noted that the arrest comes a day after the apex court granted bail to the former premier in eight May 9 cases against him. While Shahrez’s mother Aleema has already been discharged from cases pertaining to said riots, his cousin and lawyer Hassaan Khan Niazi is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the same.