Pakistan Police hunt Imran Khan's nephew over deadly hospital riot

Police have been seeking to arrest the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan's nephew Hassan Niazi for his participation in a violent protest at a hospital in Lahore of Pakistan.

The protest resulted in the death of three people, reports BBC.

Lahore police raided Hassan's residence after which the police reported he may have gone in hiding.

Hassan has admitted his participation in the attack at Punjab Institute of Cardiology at Lahore where he could be prominently seen on the CCTV footage – involved in physical assault and arson attack, setting a police van on fire.

He then posted on Twitter about the incident, saying he regretted it.

However, Hassan's uncle, PM Imran has made no mention of the demonstration on his Twitter – where he posts regularly.

Images of lawyers - in suits and ties - assaulting staff and damaging property prompted shock and condemnation.

Photos and videos of Hassan Niazi were widely shared on social media, as people lined up to criticize the lawyers.

Hassan was among the several hundred lawyers who ransacked a city hospital in a dispute with doctors. Riot police had to be called in to restore order.

The lawyer and human rights activist was held soon afterward by police and was seen being escorted out of the area.

But, his name did not appear in the police report listing those lawyers facing court action in connection with the violence which arose surprise.

The authorities have not explained what happened after he was detained, but a spokesman for the city's police chief said Hassan was identified through video footage and was now being sought.

"His residence in Lahore was raided by the police last night and also this morning to arrest him, but he was not found there and has possibly gone into hiding," the spokesman, Waseem Butt, told BBC Urdu's Shahzad Malik.

Many are questioning this account. Some wonder whether he was freed because he is related to the prime minister. Opposition politicians are demanding Hassan's immediate arrest.

Some patients had to be moved outside the hospital after it was stormed by lawyers. PHOTO: EPA

More than 80 lawyers were arrested over the hospital attack, and 46 have been remanded in custody. Lawyers called a nationwide strike on Friday, angry at police treatment of their colleagues in Lahore.

What led to the violence?

The lawyers had been protesting over the alleged mistreatment of some of their colleagues by hospital staff last month.

Police clashed with lawyers who marched on the hospital to confront doctors. PHOTO: AFP

However, the final trigger for the violence appears to have been a video posted on social media by a doctor on Tuesday night in which he poked fun at the lawyers.

Video showed the lawyers ransacking wards at the hospital the next day, beating staff and smashing equipment.

As panic spread, doctors and paramedics hid, leaving patients unattended, including those in a critical state.

Hospital sources said at least three patients - a woman and two men - died because doctors could not attend to them during the violence. It is believed that the woman had been in the intensive care unit.

Riot police fired tear gas and took more than two hours to restore order, officials said.