May 9 riots: PTI leader Hammad Azhar 'arrested' from Multan

• Azhar proclaimed offender since May 9, 2023: sources.
• PTI leader involved in multiple cases related to May 9 riots.
• Azhar served as PTI Punjab's president till August 2024.
  

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former National Assembly member Hammad Azhar has been arrested in Multan, police sources said on Sunday.

Police sources said Azhar was arrested in Multan before being handed over to Lahore police for further proceedings.

Azhar is involved in multiple cases registered in connection with the May 9, 2023 riots.

The sources further said that Azhar had been a proclaimed offender since May 9, 2023.

Azhar, who served as the federal finance minister during the PTI's tenure at the Centre, resigned from the post of the party's Punjab chapter president in August 2024.

At the time, he cited the "lack of access" to jailed PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and restrictions on his movements as the reasons behind his decision.

The PTI leader had gone into hiding after being booked in several cases pertaining to the May 9 riots.

Thousands of supporters of Khan stormed public property and military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore, on May 9, 2023, in protest against the former premier's arrest.

The riots erupted after the PTI founder was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case.

During the unrest, the supporters of Khan — the only prime minister in Pakistan's history to be ousted via a no-confidence vote — targeted civil and military installations, including the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.