Hammad Azhar's mother moves LHC for his recovery amid reports of arrest

Hammad Azhar's mother moves LHC for his recovery against the backdrop of reports of arrest.

Key points

• Wajeeh Ahmed Sheikh Published September 7, 2026 Updated September 7, 2026 02: 15pm.
• After his two previous resignations were rejected, in April 2025, Azhar had stepped down as the president of the party's Punjab chapter for the third time.
• Monday's petition was filed by his mother, Ishrat Azhar, through Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi.
• LAHORE: A habeas corpus petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday seeking recovery of PTI leader Hammad Azhar from alleged police custody.
• At the time, the PTI leader had evaded arrest when the Counter-Terrorism Department raided the party's secretariat in Islamabad.

Wajeeh Ahmed Sheikh Published September 7, 2026 Updated September 7, 2026 02: 15pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

For context, a day earlier, PTI asserted that the leader had been arrested. While Multan and Lahore police authorities stated they were unaware of his arrest, party sources asserted the PTI leader was taken into custody in a case pertaining to the May 9, 2023 riots.

Monday's petition was filed by his mother, Ishrat Azhar, through Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi. It named the Punjab inspector general of police (IGP), the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO), the Lahore deputy inspector general (operations), and the RA Bazaar station house officer (South Cantt) as respondents.

Meanwhile, the petition alleged that Azhar was arrested two days ago, but his family had no information regarding his whereabouts. It expressed reservations concerning his safety and maintained that no person could be kept in illegal detention.

In practice, the petition requested the LHC to direct the respondents to produce Azhar before the court or any competent court and disclose the complete and lawful basis of his arrest and detention.

In practice, the petition additionally sought immediate access for Azhar to his legal counsel and reasonable communication with his family members in accordance with law.

In practice, the petition asked the court to declare any detention of Azhar that was not in accordance with the Constitution and law as unlawful and without lawful authority.

Azhar, who is the son of former Punjab governor Mian Muhammad Azhar, was wanted by Lahore police in connection with a case regarding an attack on the Govt Officers' Residences (GOR-I) gate on May 9, 2023.

Reports of Azhar's arrest circulated widely on social media, with different accounts emerging regarding where and when he was taken into custody.

According to some reports circulating online on Sunday, the PTI leader was handed over to Lahore police. Nevertheless, Lahore Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigations Muhammad Naveed stated he had no confirmation regarding Azhar's arrest or handover to Lahore police.

In an official note, the PTI had termed the former finance minister's arrest "the worst example of political vengeance and fascism".

"Hammad Azhar is being continuously targeted with retaliatory actions on political grounds. The administration is recklessly using state power to suppress political opponents and silence the voice of PTI, " it alleged.

He reappeared in public on May 22, 2024, a year after he had gone into hiding when the state introduced a crackdown against the party leadership after the violent incidents of May 9. At the time, the PTI leader had evaded arrest when the Counter-Terrorism Department raided the party's secretariat in Islamabad.

Taken together, the developments around hammad Azhar' s mother moves LHC for his recovery amid reports of arrest point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.