ISLAMABAD: Sanam Javed, a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested in Islamabad after her brief release in a case relating to street violence in Pakistan over Khan’s arrest in May last year, her party and lawyer said on Sunday.
Khan’s arrest in a graft case on May 9, 2023 saw hundreds of his supporters allegedly pour into the streets across the country, ransacking military and other properties.
Thousands, including Javed, were arrested in the aftermath and some were tried by military courts after the authorities promised to bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice.
Javed’s lawyer, Ali Ashfaq, said on X that she was once again arrested by the Islamabad police after being released on Sunday in a case relating to May 9 violence.
“We handed her over to police without resistance,” Ashfaq said. “This should be the way of law-abiding people and this is what we did.”

Javed was earlier released by an Islamabad court in a case registered against her by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly inciting people to violence on May 9, 2023.
The PTI woman activist has faced a number of cases based on similar charges in Lahore, Gujranwala and other cities.
On July 11, the Lahore High Court discharged her in a case relating to May 9 riots registered against her in Gujranwala. However, she was rearrested by the Islamabad police as soon as she stepped out of the Central Jail of Gujranwala on Saturday.
Khan’s PTI party says it has been facing a crackdown and mass arrest of its members for standing by Khan, who has been in jail since August last year. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
On Saturday, Khan and his wife Bushra Khan were arrested by Pakistani authorities in a case involving illegal sale of state gifts, after a court accepted their appeals against a ruling that they had violated the country’s marriage law and ordered their immediate release.
Khan and his wife were sentenced to seven years in prison and fined in February by a court that ruled their 2018 marriage broke the law. Bushra was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called “Iddat,” after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan.
The ex-premier has been in jail after being convicted in four cases since last August. Two of the cases have since been suspended and he was acquitted in a third, so the Iddat case was the only one keeping him in prison.
Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says the cases against him are “politically motivated,” aimed at keeping him from returning to power. Pakistani authorities deny this.