Overview
- Police sources report Hammad Azhar was detained in Multan and handed to Lahore police for further legal proceedings in cases tied to the May 9, 2023 unrest.
- Authorities say Azhar is named in several cases from the riots and has been a proclaimed offender since those attacks, a legal label for someone declared to have absconded.
- Azhar previously served as federal finance minister and led PTI’s Punjab chapter before resigning in August 2024, saying he had limited access to jailed party leader Imran Khan and restricted movement.
- The May 9, 2023 violence followed Imran Khan’s arrest at the Islamabad High Court and included large-scale attacks on public and military sites such as Lahore’s Corps Commander House and Rawalpindi’s GHQ.
- The arrest is likely to prolong high-profile prosecutions of PTI figures and could deepen tensions between the party and state institutions as court filings and hearings move forward.