Agency
Islamabad/Lahore: Former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested and bundled into a prison van by paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court, sparking massive protests across Pakistan by his supporters who stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore.
The arrest of the 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician comes a day after the powerful army accused Khan of levelling baseless allegations against a senior officer of the spy agency ISI.
The chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who travelled from Lahore to the federal capital Islamabad, was undergoing a biometric process at the court when the Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him after beating lawyers and Khan’s security staff, according to senior party leader Shireen Mazari.
TV footage showed the Rangers grabbing Khan from the collar and bundling him into a prison van. The Rangers, which operate under the Interior Ministry, are usually commanded by officers on secondment from the army.
“Khan has been arrested in a land transfer case to property tycoon Malik Riaz and is being handed over to National Accountability Bureau (NAB)”, a NAB official confirmed to PTI.
He said that Khan has been arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case which is about the setting up of Al-Qadir University for Sufism in 2019 Sohawa area of Jhelum district of Punjab.
Khan’s arrest warrant, issued on May 1, said that he was accused of corruption and corrupt practice.
As the news of Khan’s arrest spread, massive protests broke out in several cities across Pakistan. Protesters at several places turned violent and burned police vehicles and damaged public property.
For the first time, Khan’s supporters smashed the main gate of the army’s sprawling headquarters in Rawalpindi, where troops exercised restraint. The protesters chanted slogans against the establishment.
In Lahore, a large number of PTI workers stormed into the Corps Commander Lahore residence and smashed the gate and window-panes. The army personnel present on duty there, however, did not try to stop the enraged protesters who surrounded them and chanted slogans against the handlers’ of the PML-N led government in the military establishment.
The protesters held a demonstration in the Cantonment area.
Lahore was virtually cut off from the rest of the province because of the protest on main roads including the entry and exit points. The caretaker Punjab government called the Rangers to control the law-and-order situation in the province and imposed section 144 under which not more than five people can gather at one point. The Punjab government also requested the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to suspend Internet and mobile services in the areas of the province where violent protests took place.
A large number of PTI workers also pelted stones at the residence of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in Faisalabad city. Similarly, protests were held in Multan, Jhang, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Khanewal, Vehari, Gujranwala, Hafizabad and Gujrat cities.
Interior Minister Sanaullah said that Khan failed to appear before the court despite being issued several notices. “The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” he said.
He asserted that Khan was not tortured.
In a pre-recorded video issued by the party after his arrest, Khan said, “till the time these words of mine reach you, I will be arrested in a baseless case. This shows that fundamental rights and democracy in Pakistan have been buried.”
“All this is being done because they want me to accept the corrupt, imported government that has been forcefully imposed on us,” Khan said.
He said if someone has a warrant, they should directly bring it to me. “Bring the warrant, my lawyer will be there. I’m ready to go to jail myself,” Khan said.
His arrest came a day after the powerful Pakistan Army on Monday slammed Khan for “highly irresponsible and baseless” allegations by him against a serving ISI officer without any evidence.
Islamabad police released a brief statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Khan as saying that Khan had been arrested in relation to the case which concerns allegations that Bahria Town allotted land worth Rs 530 million to Al-Qadir Trust, owned by the PTI chairman and his wife Bushra Bibi.
The police chief also said that the situation in Islamabad was “normal”. He added that Section 144 had been imposed in the federal capital and action would be taken against violators.
It was said that Khan was shifted to NAB office in Rawalpindi where a medical checkup was carried out. However, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed that Khan was shifted to an unknown location.
Geo News reported that Khan’s medical examination was performed but the report was not released so far. The channel also said that the NAB was preparing to present him before an anti-corruption court tomorrow and secure physical remand to further probe in the case.
It also reported that a special room has been prepared by NAB’s office in Rawalpindi and Khan will be kept there during the night. It is the same room of NAB where former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was kept when arrested during the government of Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in the case about the arrest of Khan from the court premises.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq took notice of the arrest by Rangers when Khan was present to mark his biometric attendance before the start of hearing of another case.
The court summoned various officials and heard arguments on the merit of arrest and if it was legal to arrest someone present inside the court.
After hearing the case, the chief justice reserved the judgment without saying when it would be announced.
Quoting Barrister Gohar Khan, who was at the court during Khan’s arrest, Dawn newspaper said the former prime minister was “tortured”.
“They hit Imran’s head and leg…his wheelchair was also tossed aside during the arrest,” Gohar was quoted as saying by the paper.
Former minister and senior PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that Khan’s arrest was “not acceptable” and asserted that the party chief “is our red line”. He called on the nation to take to the streets against Khan’s arrest.
PTI Secretary General Asad Umar tweeted that a six-member committee, headed by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, would determine the next course of action.
Khan has been facing a slew of cases since his ouster through a no trust vote in April last year. He has rejected all these cases as political victimisation by the ruling alliance.
Currently, Khan has said he is facing over 140 cases related to terrorism, blasphemy, murder, violence, inciting to violence.