On Tuesday, Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was arrested in connection with the GHQ attack case related to the May 9 unrest.
The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi had summoned Imran Khan, who is already in custody on cipher and graft charges, for the May 9 cases. Due to security concerns, Khan attended the court proceedings via video link from Adiala jail.
During the hearing, officials from RA Bazar Police Station requested the physical remand of the PTI founder in the May 9 cases, but ATC Judge Malik Aijaz Asif rejected the request, directing the police to conduct the interrogation in Adiala prison. This development follows the recent arrest of PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the same May 9 cases after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a cipher case.
Qureshi was remanded to Adiala jail for 14 days, facing charges related to the May 9 incidents, including the attack on GHQ on December 28, 2023. Initially arrested in a GHQ attack reference, Qureshi now faces 12 additional cases linked to the violent May 9 protests. The unrest occurred in May last year when Khan’s supporters engaged in violent protests against his arrest in a corruption case, resulting in attacks on military installations, including the GHQ.
Numerous PTI leaders and workers were subsequently arrested in connection with the May 9 mayhem, leading to internal divisions within the party. Some leaders distanced themselves from Khan, attributing the riots to the former premier’s confrontational politics.