Imran Khan arrested from Islamabad High Court premises in corruption case

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary forces on Tuesday when he was present at the Islamabad High Court for a hearing in a corruption case. A day before this, 70-year-old Khan had accused the country’s army of allegedly conspiring to assassinate him. Pakistan’s army had alleged a day earlier that Khan was making baseless allegations against a senior officer of the intelligence agency ISI.

According to senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader Shireen Mazari, party chairman Khan, who had arrived in the federal capital Islamabad from Lahore, was undergoing a biometric procedure in the court when Rangers broke a glass window and opened fire on lawyers and Khan. He (Khan) was arrested after thrashing the security staff of . TV footage showed Rangers taking Khan by the collar and putting him in a prisoner vehicle. The Rangers work under the Ministry of Home Affairs and are usually commanded by officers on deputation from the military.

An official of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) confirmed to ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that, “Khan has been arrested in a case of transfer of a land, property businessman Malik Riaz and handed over to NAB.” He said Khan has been arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, which pertains to the establishment of the Al-Qadir University for Sufism in 2019 in the Sohawa area of ​​Punjab’s Jhelum district. “The warrant for his (Khan’s) arrest was issued this morning and thereafter he was arrested,” he said. However, Khan’s arrest warrant shows that it was issued on May 1. The warrant states that Khan is accused of corruption and corrupt practices.

Home Minister Rana Sanaullah said Khan did not appear in the court despite several notices. He tweeted, “The arrest has been made by the National Accountability Bureau for causing loss to the country’s exchequer.” He said Khan was not tortured. After the arrest, the party released a pre-recorded video of Khan, in which he said, “By the time these words of mine reach you, I would have been arrested in a baseless case.” This shows that fundamental rights and democracy have been buried in Pakistan.

Khan said, “All this is being done because they want me to accept the corrupt, imported government that has been forced upon us.” He said that if anyone had a warrant, So they should be brought directly to him. Khan said, “Bring the warrant, my lawyer will be there. I am ready to go to jail myself.” Khan’s arrest comes even as the Pakistan Army on Monday criticized him for leveling “highly irresponsible and baseless” allegations against a serving ISI officer without any evidence. It was Referring directly to Khan, the army said, “We ask the concerned leader to take legal recourse and stop making false allegations.” The institute reserves the right to take legal action against false and malicious statements and propaganda.

The Islamabad Police issued a brief statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Khan, which said that Khan has been arrested in connection with the case, which alleges that PTI chairman and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in Bahria Town. 53 crore was allotted to the Al-Qadir Trust owned by The police chief also said that the situation in Islamabad is normal. He said that Section 144 has been imposed in the federal capital and action will be taken against violators. Khan’s supporters have started protesting in various cities against his arrest. Party workers have started gathering at Insaaf House, the PTI head office in Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore.

There were also reports of activists being seen on the streets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It was said that Khan was shifted to the NAB office in Rawalpindi, where he was medically examined. However, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary claimed that Khan has been transferred to an undisclosed location. Former minister Mazari said, “Which law? Courts were attacked by the rangers as if invading an occupied land – lawyers and High Court staff were also beaten up. This is today’s Pakistan – a fascist country, where the High Court was attacked by paramilitary forces.

The party alleged that Khan was being harassed, but this could not be independently confirmed. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court ordered the Islamabad police chief and others to appear before the court and explain why Khan was arrested before the court. High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said he was exercising “restraint” and warned he would “summon” the prime minister if the Islamabad police chief did not appear in court. Justice Farooq said, “Come to the court and tell us why and in what case Imran was arrested.”

Later, the Inspector General of Police, Islamabad, appeared and told the court that Khan had been arrested by the NAB and also produced a copy of his arrest warrant. The ‘Dawn’ newspaper quoted barrister Gauhar Khan, who was present in the court during Khan’s arrest, as saying that the former prime minister was tortured. Gauhar was quoted as saying by the paper, “They hit Imran on the head and legs… His wheelchair was also thrown during the arrest.” Former minister and senior PTI leader Hammad Azhar said Khan’s arrest was not acceptable. He called upon the people of the country to take to the streets against Khan’s arrest. PTI general secretary Asad Umar tweeted that a six-member committee headed by PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi would decide on the further course of action. Khan has been facing multiple cases since he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year. He has dismissed all these cases as political harassment by the ruling coalition. Khan has said that he is currently facing over 140 cases related to terrorism, blasphemy, murder, violence, incitement to violence.

Disclaimer:IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.

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