Kot Lakhpat | Pakistan

Five senior PTI leaders incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat on Wednesday opposed any change in the voting age, asking whether those “operating in the dark” were afraid of the youth’s power. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema made the remarks in a letter sent through their advocate. The development comes as debate has been raging in the country on raising the voting age from 18 to 25, with the topic also being discussed on TV shows. It is worth mentioning that no formal bill has been tabled in parliament for raising the voting age in Pakistan. A column published in Dawn on Wednesday also stated that “well-connected people” were floating the idea of raising the voting age to 25 as a possible reform. In the letter, seen by Dawn, the PTI leaders said Pakistan had witnessed its first general elections in 1970, when the voting age was 21 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, the world transformed into a global village because of whic...

Senior PTI leader and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was discharged from hospital - where he was admitted for a surgery - and transferred back to Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat prison, his lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer said on Wednesday. Qureshi was hospitalised last month at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute for gallbladder stone complications, where he underwent a successful procedure to remove the stone. Umer said he was discharged from the hospital after his condition improved, while tests were conducted, and their reports would be released in 15 days. The PTI leader has been indicted in multiple cases pertaining to the May 9, 2023, riots and has remained behind bars since August 2023. In July 2024, the PTI leader was indicted by a Lahore anti-terrorism court in a case registered by the Shadman police over allegedly attacking and burning the police station. The same month, he was transferred from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to Kot Lakhpat on a police request. It had stated that frequent transportation...

PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew, Shershah Khan, was released on Friday from Kot Lakhpat jail, a day after being granted bail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore. On Thursday, he was granted bail in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots, as Shershah’s triathlete brother, Shahrez Khan, was also released from jail after being granted bail a day earlier. The Lahore Police had arrested Shershah, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from outside his home on August 22. He was then sent on a five-day physical remand and later to jail for 14 days on August 28. Shershah’s lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umer, confirmed to Dawn.com that Shershah had been released from Kot Lakhpat jail. He also posted about his release in a post on X, along with a picture of his co-counsel and Shershah himself. In the last hearing on Tuesday, the ATC had again granted the prosecution time till today to present the case record in connection with Shershah’s post-arrest bail plea. ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill pre...