Pakistan: Imran Khan’s nephew arrested in May 9 case

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.