Web Desk: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former lawmaker Hammad Azhar has been arrested in Multan and transferred to Lahore police, according to police sources.
Azhar was taken into custody near R.A. Bazaar while staying at the residence of a close friend, the sources said. He was subsequently handed over to the investigation wing in Lahore.
Police said Azhar faces more than 50 cases linked to the May 9, 2023 unrest, including a case involving an attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House and the GOR Gate.
According to police, Azhar had been declared a proclaimed offender in connection with the cases after failing to appear before authorities.
An anti-terrorism court had previously declared him a proclaimed offender following repeated non-appearances and issued permanent arrest warrants, police sources said.
The PTI leader had sought protective bail from the Lahore and Peshawar high courts in cases registered against him.
Azhar previously served as PTI’s Punjab president but later stepped down from the party position after criminal cases were registered against him, according to sources.
Police sources gave differing details about how Azhar was traced, saying he was located near a checkpoint in the Lahore Cantonment area while travelling toward his in-laws’ residence in Multan.
Authorities then took him into custody and transferred him to Lahore for investigation.
The arrest comes amid renewed legal proceedings against PTI figures accused in cases stemming from the May 9 violence, when protests erupted across Pakistan following the arrest of the party’s founder, Imran Khan.
Separately, an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has sentenced several PTI leaders and other party figures to 10 years in prison in a case related to the May 9 incidents.
The court also ordered the confiscation of the convicted individuals’ properties.
Those named among the convicted include senior PTI figures Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Murad Saeed, Shibli Faraz, Kanwal Shauzab, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Shehbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, Ahmed Chattha, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Rai Murtaza, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra and Ejaz Khan Jazi, among others.
Azhar was also listed among those sentenced in the case, according to the details provided.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of involvement in an alleged conspiracy connected to the May 9 unrest. A joint investigation team also identified several of the accused as allegedly involved in planning the incidents.
The case has 118 accused, while prosecutors have presented evidence from multiple witnesses during the proceedings.
According to the case details, 19 prosecution witnesses have recorded statements in the trial so far, while 44 prosecution witnesses have given statements in the broader proceedings.
Some defendants did not attend the proceedings, with 18 remaining absent during the trial and another 29 failing to appear before the court after the case was registered.
The charges relate to alleged attacks and violence at several sensitive sites, including the General Headquarters gate, Hamza Camp and the Army Museum.
The cases also include allegations of arson, vandalism, attacks on police personnel and damage to public property.
Azhar’s arrest now brings another prominent PTI figure into custody in connection with the extensive legal proceedings arising from the May 9 unrest.
