LAHORE: Hassaan Niazi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s nephew and his focal person on legal affairs, has been handed over to the military for trial over his alleged involvement in the May 9 vandalism at Lahore’s Jinnah House, the Lahore High Court (LHC) was told on Friday.
Earlier this week, it was reported in the media that Niazi, who had been in hiding since the protests of May 9 and 10, was arrested by the police from Abbottabad on August 13.
Following the reports, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) set August 18 (today) as the date for the hearing and requested information about his arrest from the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments.
The PHC had also been informed by the PTI leader’s attorneys that their client’s whereabouts had been a mystery ever since his incarceration.
According to the report, Hassaan has been named as the prime suspect in the Jinnah House attack that took place in Lahore during the May 9 riots — triggered after the arrest of the PTI chief in Islamabad.
On August 17, a military official wrote a letter to the police, requesting it to hand over Niazi’s custody to the military for “trial by the court martial”.
Today, before the LHC began hearing Niazi’s father’s plea, the police submitted a report in the court, detailing the offences in which the former was found to be allegedly involved.
The report was submitted by Punjab Additional Advocate General (AAG) Ghulam Sarwar while Justice Sultan Tanveer presided over the hearing.
During today’s hearing, the AAG informed the LHC, “Hassaan Niazi has been handed over to the military”. He added that Niazi was “named in the Jinnah House attack case and was a main suspect”.
The court directed the AAG to “ask the relevant authorities if a meeting between the father and son could be held”.
