Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan arrested by massive crowd of security personnel; ‘abducted’, cries PTI
Ex-Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was arrested Tuesday outside the Islamabad High Court, local media reported.
In a video shared online by Dr Shahzad Waseem, the Leader of the Opposition in the neighbouring country, and retweeted by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the former cricketer is surrounded by a sea of security personnel – dressed in black riot gear and wielding shields and lathis – and is being dragged into a waiting vehicle.
Pak broadcaster GEO TV broadcast images of Khan being taken away and, after that, a scuffle broke out between the ex-PM’s supporters and the police.
The PTI has complained to the court, which has requested a police report explaining the charges and reasons for Khan’s arrest, the Associated Press said.
“After torturing people and breaking court windows, Imran Khan was arrested from court premises. The country is currently in the grip of the worst fascism… where there is no such thing as Constitution and law left…” Waseem tweeted.
The tweet carried the hashtag #BehindYourSkipper.
PTI leader Azhar Mashwani alleged Khan had been ‘abducted’ by Pakistan Rangers, an elite paramilitary force, and called for nationwide protests.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior PTI official said Imran Khan, 72, was arrested by the Pakistan’s anti-corruption body, the National Accountability Bureau. Chaudhry said Khan had been dragged out of the court; he too decried it as ‘an abduction’.
Officials from the anti-corruption body said Khan was arrested in a separate corruption case – for which he had not obtained bail – and that he will be brought before a tribunal later today.
The Pakistan government has responded via interior minister Rana Sanaullah, who tweeted to say Khan was arrested for failing to answer court summons.
“The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury. No violence was done to him.”
According to Pak newspaper Dawn, the Islamabad High Court is less than impressed by Khan being whisked away from its premises and has summoned senior government and police officials to explain their actions.
Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April.
He has since claimed (repeatedly) his ouster was illegal and part of a larger Western conspiracy, and has campaigned against his successor Shahbaz Sharif to demand an early election.