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Thursday March 28, 2024

Imran arrested in multibillion rupee corruption case

IHC validates arrest as legal; NAB says PTI chief was not responding to call-up notices

By News Desk & Our Correspondent
May 10, 2023
Imran arrested in a multibillion rupee corruption case.—Twitter
Imran arrested in a multibillion rupee corruption case.—Twitter

ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic move, the Rangers and paramilitary troops Tuesday arrested the PTI Chairman Imran Khan on the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

NAB Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmad Butt issued Imran’s arrest warrant on May 1, and he was arrested under sections 9A, 34A, 18A and 24A of the NAB Ordinance 1999.

Soon after his arrest, Imran was taken to the NAB Rawalpindi camp from where he would be produced before a NAB court on Wednesday (today).

Large contingents of Rangers were deployed on and off the court premises, while the troops were positioned at different points.

Shortly after Imran entered the court gate and reached the biometric verification department, the Rangers and paramilitary forces followed him and blocked the gates with armoured personnel carriers.

The paramilitary troops broke several doors, jumped through the smashed windowpanes and scuffled with the PTI supporters and lawyers to reach Imran. The lawyers and troops exchanged fisticuffs. Five policemen were also arrested.

Later, Imran was whisked away in a black Toyota Hilux Vigo.

In a pre-recorded video statement to the public, Imran said when these words would reach them, he would have been arrested.

“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.”

The former premier, while demanding that he be approached through a warrant, urged against staging any drama.

“There is no case against me. I’m mentally prepared for arrest. If I have to go to jail, I’m ready,” Khan said. The PTI chief said the nation knew him for the last 50 years and he had been among the people for 50 years.

“I never broke the Constitution and law. Ever since I entered politics, I always tried to fight peacefully and protest within the constitutional limits. What is being done today is not because I have broken the law, but to prevent me from real freedom.”

Referring to the incumbent rulers, he charged, “The gang of corrupt thieves imposed on us, the imported government wants me to accept it. I appeal to you that you have to go out for your rights and real freedom. Never does a nation get freedom on the plate, but it has to struggle and work hard for it. Allah gives such a nation the gift of freedom.”

“The time has come for everyone to come out for their rights,” he contended.

Imran’s lawyer Barrister Ali Gohar told the media that the Rangers personnel ‘tortured’ the party chairman during the arrest. “Imran Khan was hit on the head and the injured leg,” he claimed.

Gohar said he and Ali Bukhari were accompanying the PTI chief at the time of the arrest.

“The Rangers broke through the glass and entered the diary branch,” Advocate Gohar further said, adding that the Rangers broke the main gate before ransacking the IHC office.

IGP Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan said Imran was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, adding the situation in the federal capital was under control.

He said the arrest of Imran Khan was lawful and the law enforcement agencies had fulfilled all the legal formalities before the arrest.

Section 144 has been imposed in the federal capital. The police have rejected the PTI’s allegations that people were tortured.

“The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” the NAB sources said.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) confirmed that Imran Khan was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case and was shifted to the NAB Rawalpindi where his medical examination was conducted.

The case relates to the illegal acquisition of land and construction of Al-Qadir University involving unlawful benefits given in the recovery of prime proceeds of 190 million British pounds through the UK’s National Crime Agency.

The NAB said the arrest was made after fulfilling the lawful procedures of inquiry and investigation and that during the process of inquiry/investigation, several call-up notices were issued to the former prime minister and his wife but none of the call-up notices were responded to by them.

The NAB said the former prime minister misled his own cabinet by concealing the facts and documents related to the settlement agreement.

The money — totaling 190 million British pounds — was received under the settlement agreement and was supposed to be deposited in the national exchequer, say the NAB sources. However, that money was adjusted in another case settled by the Supreme Court against a payment plan of Rs460 billion.

The NAB sources said former SAPM Shehzad Akbar was the key person involved in the said case and the process of issuance of a red notice for him had already been initiated.

In a related development, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday termed Imran’s arrest legal in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, who had questioned the Rangers move to arrest Khan from the court premises earlier in the day, announced the reserved verdict.

The court also issued notices to the Islamabad inspector general of police and the interior secretary over the contempt of court.

The chief justice ordered the high court registrar to get a first information report (FIR) registered over the circumstances of the arrest, which included manhandling of the lawyers present nearby as well as damage to the court building.

He also instructed the registrar to conduct an inquiry and submit a report by May 16.

Meanwhile, PTI has condemned the arrest of Imran, terming it “abduction” by the law enforcement agencies and urged the supporters and workers to stage protests across the country.

Reacting to the arrest, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi disapproved of his party chief’s arrest. “The entire nation should immediately take to the streets,” he said asking everyone to come out in protest.

In an audio message via PTI’s official Twitter account, PTI leader Murad Saeed claimed that Khan was tortured and asked supporters, particularly the youth, to step out to protest against the PTI chief’s arrest.

“It’s time to free Pakistan from these oppressors and false gods. It’s time for Haqeeqi Azadi. Come out to the places you’ve been asked to reach,” he said.

Following Imran’s arrest, the PTI workers staged countrywide demonstrations, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan. Two deaths were reported. Several people were arrested.

In Lahore, the PTI Punjab chapter leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, led the demonstrators. The party workers in large numbers gathered outside the PTI office on the Jail Road and chanted slogans in support of Imran besides condemning his arrest. The police used shelling to disperse them.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Yasmin Rashid said Imran was their redline that nobody could be allowed to cross. She said Imran was the head of the largest political party of the country and the sixth largest party of the world, adding that the way he was arrested was highly condemnable.

There were reports that PTI workers ransacked the house of a top-ranking state official in Lahore.

In Karachi, demonstrators clashed with the police near Nursery and threw stones at and set fire to police vehicles. They tore down streetlights and damaged a bus. There were reports that police fired teargas shells at the protesters.

In Rawalpindi, clashes broke out between the police and PTI workers whereas firing incidents were also reported. In Hafizabad, a large crowd gathered in support of Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Police detained the PTI Sindh chapter President Ali Zaidi after protests erupted in the metropolis following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

Although, the police did not provide the reason behind the detention, a video of the arrest circulating on the social media showed that the police forced Zaidi into a white-coloured Toyota vehicle near the city’s Kala Pul area.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Home Department Tuesday imposed Section 144 across the province.

According to a notification, all kinds of assemblies, gatherings, sits-in, rallies, processions, demonstrations, jalsas, dharnas, protests and other such activities across the province will be prohibited.

The Rangers were also called out in the provincial metropolis for protection of life and property of the people.

Additional Chief Secretary Home Mian Shakeel Ahmed said it had written to the mobile service providers in Lahore to suspend their services. He said the government will ensure the safety of people’s lives and property.