Updates on Imran Khan’s arrest: In a major development, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has been arrested by Rangers officials from the Islamabad Judicial Complex. According to local media reports, he was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The arrest, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dubbed a “kidnapping”, comes just a day after it accused top army and intelligence officers of a recent assassination attempt.
However, it was not immediately clear what prompted the Rangers to forcibly arrest him when he was to appear before the Islamabad High Court.
Even the court was unaware of the motive behind Khan’s arrest
Interestingly, IHC Chief Justice Ameer Farooq, who has taken cognizance of the incident and summoned IG Islamabad, Interior Secretary and Additional Attorney General, claimed that he too was not aware of the reason for his arrest. .
Justice Farooq has directed top police officials to immediately inform who was behind the arrest and in which case Imran has been arrested, reports The Express Tribune.
The judge said that action would be taken, “even if it is against ministers”.
What is Al-Qadir Trust Case?
According to local media reports, he was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case. Notably, Khan promised to set up a project to provide quality education in Jhelum, Punjab, during his tenure.
According to reports, Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and several close associates—Zulfiqar Bukhari and Babar Awan—were involved in the project. To fulfill his promise, Khan formed the Al-Qadir University Project Trust, naming Bibi, Bukhari and Awan as office bearers.
However, a deal was finalized between the then PTI government and a property tycoon which reportedly caused a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer.
According to the allegations, Khan and the other accused adjusted 50 billion rupees – 190 million pounds at the time – sent to the government by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), The News International reported.
He is also accused of obtaining undue advantage in the form of over 458 acres of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, for the establishment of Al Qadir University.
PTI calls on supporters to protest
Azhar Mashwani, another PTI leader, alleged that Khan was “abducted” from inside the court by the Rangers. He said the party has given an immediate call for protests across the country.
“They are torturing Imran Khan right now […] They are beating Khan Sahab. They have done something to Khan Sahab,” another leader Musarrat Cheema said in a video message posted on the party’s Twitter handle.
Former information minister and PTI vice-chairman Fawad Chaudhry had earlier said that the court “has been taken over by rangers” and lawyers are “being tortured”.
He said, “Imran Khan’s car has been surrounded.”
Significantly, Khan has been facing several cases since his ouster through a no-confidence vote in April last year. He has dismissed all these cases as political harassment by the ruling coalition. Currently, Khan is facing over 140 cases related to terrorism, blasphemy, murder, violence and inciting violence.