PTI claims the abduction of Imran Khan’s nephew in Lahore Raid

Lahore:

Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) claimed on Thursday that men in ordinary clothing attacked the Lahore residence of Aleema Khan, sister of the prison former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and abducted her son, Shahrez Khan, in what the opposition party described as an illegal act of scary.

According to PTI leaders, Raidet happened late Wednesday night when a group of unidentified individuals for power entered Aleema Khan’s home. The party’s officials claimed that household staff were assaulted, family members harassed, and Shahrez was taken from his bedroom in front of his children.

PTI’s Central Information Department issued a statement called the episode “The height of Thuggery and oppression,” adding that “even houseworkers were exposed to brutal violence.”

Rana Mudassar Umar, a lawyer for PTI, told the media that Shahrez had no political attachments and did not face registered cases. He said the party would sign Lahore High Court about his immediate improvement. “People dressed in plain clothes came into the house and took Aleema Khan’s son with him,” he said. “There is no case against him, nor is he related to politics.”

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The party claimed that the incident came just a day after Shahrez was prevented from traveling abroad with his wife when he was stopped at Lahore Airport and “illegally read” from a flight. PTI leaders said the time of the two episodes demonstrated a deliberate campaign for harassment targeted at Imran Khan’s relatives.

Senior PTI figures condemned the incident in strong terms. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur described the alleged abduction as “contemptible” and demanded Shahrez’s secure return. Former opposition leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, also condemned the incident and wrote on social media that “such feige acts evidence that Imran Khan, his family members and PTI activists cannot be defeated.”

PTI’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, claimed the raid was ordered at the highest levels of government. The statement accused Mohsin Naqvi and the ruling coalition of political vendettas, accused of having “families now being destroyed in power by power.” The party also demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan intervene and ordered Shahrez’s immediate release.

The reported Raid came a few hours after the Supreme Court awarded bail to PTI founder Imran Khan in eight cases tied to the violent protests of May 9, 2023. A three-members bench led by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi gave up that observations made during bail treatment were temporary and should not be prejudiced. PTI leaders said the time of the attack suggested an attempt to offset the political relief awarded to Khan earlier in the day.

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Shahrez Khan, 39, is a well -known triathlete and businessman. He was educated at Aitchison College in Lahore and later served an MBA from Oxford University before joining Simba Global, an Australia-based linen supplier where he acts as a regional head. PTI highlighted his results as Pakistan’s supreme Ironman athlete and noticed that he is only the second Pakistani triathlete ever to qualify for the World Cup. The party insisted that he had no involvement in political activities and was targeted solely because of his family ties.

The allegations also inflamed political tensions such as Imran Khan remains in prison in a number of cases despite Thursday’s guarantee decision. His party has accused the government of systematically targeting Khan’s relatives and supporters in an attempt to run PTI’s political base prior to future elections.

As a call mounted to Shahrez’s release, PTI warned that continued oppression of political dissence could trigger widespread public turmoil. “If no immediate action is taken, people’s anger will become uncontrollable,” says the party’s statement.