LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Thursday sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s nephew, Aleema Khan’s son Shershah, on a 14-day judicial remand in a May 9 riots case.
The suspect, who was arrested on August 22 one day after Imran’s another nephew Shahrez Khan’s arrest in the Jinnah House attack case related to the May 9 violence, was currently in police custody after the ATC granted his five-day physical remand to the police. Shershah was presented before the court on Thursday following the expiry of his five-day physical remand. During the hearing, the police sought Shershah’s 30-day physical remand. The police contended in a video that the suspect can be seen standing with Hassan Niazi — who is also a nephew of the jailed PTI founder — during the May 9 riots.
Responding to this, Shershah’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued that merely featuring in a video did not prove a crime. After hearing the arguments, ATC Judge Manzar Ali Gill approved 14-day judicial remand of the suspect and sent him to jail.
It is pertinent to know that Shershah and Shahrez face charges of running anti-state campaigns and involvement in the May 9 violence. Sources had told Geo News earlier that both of the suspects were primarily arrested for their alleged involvement in the Jinnah House attack. “Shershah was present with Hassan Niazi at the time of the Jinnah House attack and had earlier been booked in connection with the case. He was facing accusations of arson, vandalism and torching a police van, as well as running an anti-state digital campaign for months”. He allegedly went into hiding after the violence and later fled to London, where he remained for nearly two years, the sources added.
