Like other senior members of the PTI who have been arrested in recent weeks, in some cases several times, Azhar avoided directly naming the powerful army as being responsible.
Azhar is wanted on terrorism charges for violent nationwide protests in May and no warrants were needed to raid his home, said Punjab police chief Usman Anwar. Azhar denies the charges. All the leaders who have been set free have publicly distanced themselves from Khan, denounced the protests and praised the military.
Finally, on May 23, shortly after being released for a fifth time, she held a press conference announcing she was quitting politics. She was not re-arrested after that.Fawad Chaudhry, a former information minister and a close Khan aide, was arrested on May 10 outside the Supreme Court despite having protective bail. He was surrounded by police again after a court ordered his release a few days later.
He told a court last week that he had been tortured in custody, his lawyer Masood Gujjar said. Police deny torturing Rasheed. People from Khan’s party have said, like her, many of the others arrested in the crackdown were held in similar, if not worse, conditions.