Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was arrested outside the Islamabad High Court, according to a report by Dawn. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Faisal Chaudhry also confirmed Khan’s arrest. In a tweet, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry stated that the Rangers have taken control of the IHC, and lawyers are being subjected to torture.
PTI chairman Khan has criticized his detention, referring to it as an abduction. He was taken into custody by Pakistani Rangers following his appearance in the Alqadir Trust case. Allegedly, Bahria Town, a private real estate company, allotted land worth 530 million Pakistani rupees to Al-Qadir Trust, which is owned by Khan and his wife. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordered Khan’s arrest based on these allegations. NAB officials had issued an arrest warrant against Khan on May 1.
Releasing a statement, Islamabad Police confirmed Khan’s arrest. “Imran Khan has been arrested in the Qadir Trust case. Situation is normal. Section 144 is in force and action will be taken in case of violation,” said police quoting IG Islamabad.
According to earlier reports, the police had surrounded Imran Khan’s car and no force was used during the arrest. However, Barrister Gohar Khan, who witnessed the arrest by Pak Rangers, alleged that Imran Khan was hit in the leg and tortured during the arrest. It is worth noting that Khan had been shot in the leg a few months ago. Gohar further claimed that the Rangers even threw Khan’s wheelchair during the arrest.
Reports suggest that the court had previously taken note of Khan’s arrest, and IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had allegedly instructed the Islamabad police chief and the interior ministry secretary to appear before the court within 15 minutes to explain the reason and details of the arrest. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq stated that he had shown restraint and threatened to summon Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if the Islamabad police chief failed to appear before the court.
Allegations of corruption have been leveled against Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, and he has had conflicts with the Pakistani Army. Imran Khan has previously made several allegations against Pakistani Army officials, including accusing one of involvement in an assassination attempt against him. On May 8th, the Pakistan Army criticized Imran Khan for making baseless and highly irresponsible allegations against a serving senior military officer without providing any evidence.
