Hammad Azhar dodges arrest attempt

ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Hammad Azhar, who reappeared today after almost a year in hiding, dodged arrest as Islamabad Police showed up at party’s Central Secretariat on Wednesday, ARY News reported.

Hammad Azhar was among the several PTI leaders who went into hiding following the May 9 riots last year when protesters took to the streets after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested from court premises.

These cases against him span across various cities including Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad, raising questions about the extent of the legal entanglement faced by the PTI leader.

Earlier in the day, Azhar reappeared at Central Secretariat after ‘receiving’ PTI founder Imran Khan’s message, stating: “It’s time to come out of hiding and continue the struggle”.

The PTI claimed that he received the party’s founder message following yesterday’s attack on spokesperson Raoof Hasan – who had his face slashed with a blade by a group of transgender persons outside a private news channel office.

Hammad Azhar claimed that he had been receiving threats and false cases had been registered against him. “I have been accused of carrying a pistol and explosives, but I was not present at the scene of the incidents,” he alleged.

Soon after Azhar’s reappearance, the Islamabad police arrived at the party’s secretariat in order to arrest him. However, the PTI leader had already left for Peshawar.

Sources told ARY News that police officials interrogated the PTI Central Secretariat staff and searched all rooms in the presence of a United Nations (UN) delegation.

Hammad also announced that he would secure pre-arrest bail from Peshawar High Court (PHC) tomorrow and also appear in courts in Punjab, maintaining that he was innocent and would prove it in court.