- Wednesday, November 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was on Tuesday (9) arrested from outside the high court in Islamabad, the national capital, by Pakistan Rangers, the country’s media reported.
Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician who lost the prime minister’s post in April last year, was taken into custody from the court premises in a corruption case, the reports suggested.
“Imran Khan’s car has been surrounded,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice president Fawad Chaudhry said without confirming his arrest.
Former PM Imran Khan has been abducted from Court premises, scores of lawyers and general people have been tortured, Imran Khan has been whisked away by unknown people to an unknown location, CJ Islamabad HIgh Court has ordered Secy interior and IG police to appear within 15 min…
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 9, 2023
Khan, who leads the PTI, was present at the high court for two hearings and was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
Islamabad Police released a statement in which it quoted inspector general Akbar Nasir Khan as saying that the 70-year-old leader was arrested in the “Qadir Trust case”, the daily added.
The police said the situation in Islamabad was “normal”, adding that Section 144 had been imposed in the capital and action would be taken against those who flout it.
PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry confirmed the development to Dawn.com that saw Islamabad high court’s chief justice Aamer Farooq to direct the city police chief, interior ministry secretary and the additional attorney general to appear before the court soon.
The chief justice said that he was showing “restraint” and warned that he would “summon” the prime minister if the capital’s police chief failed to appear before the court.
“Come to court and tell us why Imran has been arrested and in which case,” Justice Farooq was quoted as saying by Dawn.
According to a Reuters witness, shortly after Khan entered the gate of the court, paramilitary forces and armoured personnel carriers followed.
The gate was blocked by armoured vehicles while the former prime minister was whisked away soon after under heavy security, the witness said.
Khan’s detention comes after several unsuccessful attempts to arrest him were made and he managed to evade them. He also survived an assassination attempt in Wazirabad in the Punjab province in November.
Chaudhry tweeted the court has been “occupied by the Rangers” and lawyers “are being subjected to torture”.
