Imran Khan was also detained in connection with the GHQ attack case

Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was briefly detained and then arrested in connection with the GHQ attack case pertaining to the violent protests that broke out on May 9 across the nation last year.

The PTI founder, who is currently incarcerated in connection with cipher and graft allegations, was summoned by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, May 9.

The PTI founder was unable to appear in person due to security concerns, therefore he watched the court proceedings via video link instead of in person at Adiala jail.

ATC Judge Malik Aijaz Asif denied the request made by RA Bazar Police Station officials to physically remand the PTI founder in the cases heard on May 9.

The PTI founder was to be questioned by the police in Adiala prison, per the ATC judge’s directive.

The event occurred a few days after Shah Mahood Qureshi, a key leader of the PTI, was also detained in connection with the May 9 charges after the Supreme Court granted his bail in a separate case.

Qureshi was placed on a 14-day remand at Adiala jail by a district court in Rawalpindi, with regards to cases dated May 9, among them the one concerning the attack on GHQ on December 28, 2023.

After being detained at Adiala Jail on suspicion of a GHQ attack, Qureshi was later the target of 12 more cases pertaining to the violent May 9 protests.

To protest the arrest of the party president in a fraud case, Khan’s purported supporters and employees resorted to violence in May of last year, storming and looting military installations, including GHQ.

Following the chaos of May 9, some PTI leaders and employees were taken into custody, and some of them broke away from Khan because they felt that Khan’s aggressive style of leadership was the cause of the unrest.