Lahore ATC sends PTI's Hammad Azhar to jail on 14-day judicial remand

LAHORE: A Lahore anti-terrorism court on Tuesday rejected a police request for further physical remand of PTI leader Hammad Azhar in the Jinnah House attack case and sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand, Geo News and Minute Mirror reported.

The investigating officer had sought an extension of physical remand to conduct a polygraph test on Azhar. ATC Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram Khan turned down the request after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence, Minute Mirror reported.

Azhar's lawyer, Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi, argued that a polygraph test required the suspect's consent and referred to a Lahore High Court judgment holding that the procedure should take place during judicial remand. The suspect must appear before a magistrate to state whether he agrees to undergo the test, the counsel said. Azhar told the court he did not wish to take the test if the law allowed him to refuse, according to Minute Mirror.

After the ruling, Niazi said on social media platform X that his client's 50-day physical remand had ended and that Azhar had been transferred to Kot Lakhpat jail.

Geo News reported that Azhar was produced in court after completing his latest spell of physical remand, extended by 12 days on October 15, bringing the total period in physical custody to 50 days. Dawn reported that his initial remand was for 21 days and was extended more than once.

Sarwar Road police registered the case against several PTI leaders and workers over allegations of attacking and vandalising Jinnah House during the May 9, 2023 protests against the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. Thousands of PTI supporters stormed public property and military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore, after Khan was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in a graft case.

According to Azhar's family, he was arrested on September 5. Police said the following day that they were unaware of his arrest, and he was produced before an ATC on September 7, Dawn reported. Geo News reported that he was handed over to Lahore police after his arrest in Multan, that he had been declared a proclaimed offender, and that multiple cases are registered against him in connection with the May 9 riots.

Azhar, a former federal minister who held the finance, industries and energy portfolios during PTI's tenure at the centre, served as the party's Punjab chapter president until August 2024, when he resigned citing a lack of access to the jailed Imran Khan and restrictions on his movement. He remained in hiding after being named in the May 9 cases and reappeared in public on May 22, 2024, according to Geo News.