PTI says former finance minister Hammad Azhar detained in Pakistan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on September 6 that its leader and former finance minister Hammad Azhar had been detained in Multan. The party called it political revenge, Dawn reports.
Reports of detention
According to the publication's sources, Azhar was taken into custody in Multan in a case related to the riots of May 9, 2023. At the same time, Multan Regional Police Officer Usman Akram Gondal told Dawn that he had no information about the politician's detention.
Reports also circulated online that Azhar had allegedly been handed over to Lahore police over his suspected involvement in a case concerning the May 9 events. Lahore Senior Superintendent of Investigation Police Muhammad Naveed said he could confirm neither Azhar's detention nor his transfer to the city's police.
PTI statements
PTI demanded that Azhar be immediately brought before a court if there is a criminal case against him, that he be provided with basic and legal rights, and that what the party described as political revenge be stopped. In its statement, PTI claimed that the authorities are using state powers to suppress political opponents and the party's voice.
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Former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub also wrote on X about Azhar's detention. According to him, its purpose may have been to obstruct PTI's march planned for September 27. Moonis Elahi, the son of PTI President Pervez Elahi, said Azhar had been detained in several cases that he described as fabricated.
Previous cases
In April 2025, Azhar stepped down as head of PTI's Punjab chapter for the third time after his two previous resignation letters had not been accepted. He reappeared in public on May 22, 2024, about a year after going into hiding amid a campaign against the party leadership following the violent events of May 9.
Earlier, Azhar avoided detention during a Counter Terrorism Department raid on the PTI secretariat in Islamabad. At the time, a police spokesperson said the capital's police were seeking him in three separate cases: two registered by Ramna police and one 2023 case at the Counter Terrorism Department.
