Pakistan Latest News: Why was Imran Khan arrested? Know what Pakistan’s Shahbaz Sharif government said

Islamabad: Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested in a corruption case on charges of causing loss to the national exchequer. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reports from outside the Islamabad High Court Giving details about the chief’s arrest, Sanaullah dismissed reports that the 70-year-old Khan was tortured during his arrest. 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. He had come to the country’s capital from Lahore. A day earlier, Khan had accused the country’s army of plotting his assassination. Sanaullah said, “The NAB (National Accountability Bureau) has arrested him in the Al-Qadir Trust case.” He said the arrest has been made on merit and he is in the custody of the anti-corruption agency. The home minister said UK authorities had seized 190 million pounds, or 60 billion Pakistani rupees, from a Pakistani realtor in a money laundering case and intended to transfer it to the government of Pakistan.

However, Imran Khan allowed the businessman to withdraw the money instead of depositing it in the exchequer and use it to pay a fine imposed by the Supreme Court in another case. The businessman, in turn, provided Al-Qadir Trust with 23.1 hectares of land at Sohwa in Jhelum and 12.1 hectares at Banigala near Islamabad.

The minister also claimed that the Al-Qadir Trust is registered in the names of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and her close friend Farah Gogi. Sanaullah claimed that the properties were worth six-seven billion rupees. “Khan has caused huge loss to the exchequer,” he said. He urged that the court should return this money to the government. He accused Khan of playing into the hands of other countries and issuing statements against government institutions. “Khan is an ally of the country’s enemies and is trying to harm the country,” the minister said.

The minister said the paramilitary force officers who arrested Khan were performing their duty legally. He said that the government has nothing to do with the arrests made on the orders of NAB. He added that “dozens” of other cases of corruption were being investigated against the former prime minister. The home minister said, “He (Khan) has not been harassed in any way.”