KARACHI/PESHAWAR/QUETTA: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in Islamabad by the paramilitary Rangers force on Tuesday, triggering nationwide protests and threatening fresh turmoil in the South Asian nation as it faces its most daunting economic crisis to date.
Khan had arrived in the capital city from Lahore and was inside the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for two hearings on Tuesday afternoon when he was arrested in a separate case, the Al-Qadir Trust reference pending before an anti-graft court and relating to the purchase and transfer of land for a university in Punjab province.
The arrest by paramilitary Rangers officials, who reportedly had warrants, took place a little after 2pm on Tuesday afternoon when Khan entered the building of the IHC. Media reported paramilitary troops had to break several doors, jump through smashed windows and scuffle with Khan’s supporters and lawyers before arresting him and driving off with him in a black Vigo.
“I’m mentally ready to be arrested,” Khan had said in a video message to supporters before he left Lahore for Islamabad.
Khan will be presented before a National Accountability Court on Wednesday. His medical examination, usual for suspects after arrests, was carried out on Tuesday.
NAB in a statement said Khan was booked under Section 9A of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, which relates to “corruption and corrupt practices.”
“The arrest was ordered and implemented by the NAB,” the accountability watchdog said in a statement. “Rangers troops were deployed for the action on the orders of the Ministry of the Interior.”
Police in Islamabad imposed section 144 in the capital, banning public gatherings to preempt protests and rallies in support of Khan. Section 144 was also imposed in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, as well as the southwestern Balochistan province. Previous attempts to arrest Khan from his Lahore residence resulted in heavy clashes between his supporters and law enforcement personnel earlier this year.
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Just hours before his arrest, Khan doubled down on the allegations in a video message.
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Soon after Khan’s arrest, his supporters poured into the streets across Pakistan, blocking main roads, disrupting traffic and chanting anti-government slogans. The PTI said one supporter was killed in the southwestern city of Quetta, but police did not confirm the alleged killing.
“You will have to come out for real independence,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Twitter in a protest call to supporters. “The time has come that you will have to come out [on the streets] for the sake of your country.” Arab News
