- PTI leader’s mother seeks orders to disclose Azhar’s arrest.
- Says PTI leader taken into custody two days ago from Multan.
- Azhar was wanted by police in Lahore and other cities: police.
LAHORE: The mother of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar on Monday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking his recovery a day after police reportedly detained him in Multan.
The petition names Punjab Inspector General of Police, Lahore Capital City Police Officer and others as respondents, seeking orders to disclose Azhar’s arrest and produce him before court.
According to the petition, the former federal minister was taken into custody from Multan two days ago but was not presented before a court.
The petitioner requested the court to order authorities to formally show Azhar’s arrest, provide records of cases registered against him, and produce him before the court.
Azhar was reportedly handed over to Lahore police following his arrest in Multan, with police sources saying that the PTI leader — declared a proclaimed offender — was involved in multiple cases registered in connection with the May 9, 2023 riots.
According to police sources, Azhar had been taken into custody but his arrest could not yet be formally recorded.
Police said that the PTI leader was wanted by police in Lahore and other cities, adding that the legal status of Azhar’s arrest and cases was being reviewed.
Documents relating to his cases would be prepared and presented before the court, they added.
Azhar, who served as the federal minister during the PTI’s tenure at the Centre, resigned from the post of the party’s Punjab chapter president in August 2024.
At the time, he cited the “lack of access” to jailed PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and restrictions on his movements as the reasons behind his decision.
He had remained in hiding after being named in several cases stemming from the May 9 riots.
Thousands of supporters of the jailed party founder stormed public property and military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore, on May 9, 2023, in protest against the former premier’s arrest.
The riots erupted after the PTI founder was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case.
