New Delhi:Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested outside the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday, while appearing for hearing in two cases.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice president Fawad Chaudhry tweeted the high court had been occupied by the Rangers – a paramilitary law enforcement corps – and that lawyers were being subjected to torture.
PTI leader Musarrat Cheema said in a video message that the Rangers were “torturing Imran Khan right now… they are beating Khan sahib. They have done something with Khan sahib.”
Another party colleague Azhar Mashwani alleged the Rangers abducted Khan from inside the high court, and warned the party would begin widespread protests very soon.
The PTI tweeted videos of the Rangers leading away Khan, and captioned one with the message — “Pakistan’s brave people must come out and defend their country”.
Another tweet showed Imran Khan’s lawyer bleeding on to his white shirt, while his forehead wound was being treated. The party captioned the tweet: “Black day for our democracy and country.”
Imran Khan was at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for two hearings when he was taken into custody by the Rangers.
Soon after Imran Khan’s arrest, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq wanted to know from the Islamabad Police why Khan had been arrested and in which case.
Within minutes, the cops released a statement and said Khan had been arrested in a case pertaining to allegations regarding the allotment of land worth Pakistani Rupees 530 million to the Al-Qadir Trust, which is owned by the PTI chairman and his wife.
The Islamabad Police, meanwhile, rejected allegations that anyone had been tortured, saying the police had encircled Khan’s car. Section 144 has also been imposed on the capital city.
Imran Khan’s arrest Tuesday has come after several unsuccessful attempts – the latest being a police raid at his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park in March. Khan managed to evade arrest after supporters dramatically staved off the police.
Arrest after assassination charge against military
Khan’s arrest also came in the heels of the Pakistan military’s rejection of his claim that a serving senior intelligence officer was involved in an assassination attempt on him in Wazirabad.
The Pakistan armed forces’ media wing – the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – on Monday said Khan’s allegations against the officer were “irresponsible and baseless… extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable”.
But on Tuesday, Khan reiterated that charge in a video message, before leaving for the Islamabad High Court to appear in two cases – one of mutiny and another of attempted murder.
Khan said, “This man tried to kill me twice and whenever an investigation is carried out, I will prove that it was this man and there is a whole gang with him.” He added the nation was well aware who stood with the officer in question.
There are over a 100 cases registered against Khan since he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote last April – he served four of his five-year term.
In most of the cases, a conviction would bar Khan from holding public office, which would be a setback for the cricketer-turned-politician as the country’s general elections are in November.
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