Pakistan’s former Interior Minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid was arrested on Thursday morning. According to reports, he was considered a close aide of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan.
Rashid’s arrest comes after a case was registered against him, alleging that former President Asif Ali Zardari was planning an assassination attempt on the PTI chief.
According to reports, Rashid is likely to be brought before a judge by the police to seek permission to interrogate Rashid for any evidence supporting his allegation against Zardari. Significantly, Rashid is a staunch critic of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government.
Rashid was accused of inciting people to violence
The police further said that the arrest of the former minister followed a complaint by Inayat-ur Rehman, a senior politician of Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party. Rehman told the police that Rashid was inciting people to violence by making serious allegations against Zardari.
Meanwhile, the arrests are likely to deepen political turmoil at a time when the government is facing one of its worst economic crises and is in talks to revive a $6 billion bailout to the International Monetary Fund .
It should be mentioned here that Rashid’s arrest comes days after police in Lahore detained Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader of Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, for threatening the head of the election board and other officials Is.
(with inputs from AP)