Global Courant 2023-05-09 17:14:30
Pakistan’s anti-graft operatives arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday as he appeared before a court in the capital Islamabad to face charges in multiple corruption cases, police and his party officials said.
The arrest, which marks a dramatic escalation on the Pakistani political scene, drew nationwide condemnation from supporters of the popular opposition leader and former cricketer.
According to Fawad Chaudhry, a senior Tehreek-e-Insaf party official, Khan was dragged outside the Islamabad High Court and pushed into a police car by officers from the National Accountability Bureau.
Chaudhry denounced the arrest as “a kidnapping”. Pakistan’s independent GEO TV broadcast footage of 72-year-old Khan being pulled by security forces to an armored vehicle, which took him away.
Dismissed last year
Khan was ousted in April 2022 in a vote of no confidence. Claiming his ouster was illegal and a Western conspiracy, he campaigned against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, demanding early elections.
After Khan was taken away, a scuffle broke out between Khan’s supporters and the police. Chaudhry said some of Khan’s lawyers and supporters were injured in the scuffle, as well as several police officers. Khan’s party immediately filed a complaint with the Islamabad High Court, which requested a police report explaining the allegations for Khan’s arrest.
Anti-corruption agency officials said Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau had issued arrest warrants for Khan last week in a separate corruption case, for which he had not obtained bail — something that would protect him from arrest under the country’s laws.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Khan will appear before an anti-graft tribunal later on Tuesday.
Islamabad police have confirmed the arrest. Khan was later transferred to the garrison town of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, where he was to be questioned at the offices of the National Accountability Bureau. According to the police, he also had to undergo a medical check-up according to the procedure.
Earlier in the day, Khan had arrived in Islamabad from the nearby city of Lahore, where he lives, to face charges before the Islamabad High Court in multiple corruption cases against him. The former cricket star turned politician has claimed the cases, including terrorism allegations, are a plot by Sharif’s government to discredit him.
Private security personnel with bulletproof shields escort former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan who arrives for court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday. (Ghulam Farid/The Associated Press)
As news of the arrest spread, Khan’s supporters began to gather in Lahore, chanting anti-government slogans.
‘blatant interference’
The arrest was “flagrant interference in judicial affairs by those in power,” Raoof Hasan, another leader of Khan’s party, told Al Jazeera’s English television. “We are completely in the dark. He is as good as kidnapped in court.”
The arrest came hours after Khan broadcast a video message before leaving for Islamabad, saying he was “mentally prepared” for arrest – an indication that he may have known what awaited him in the capital.
Khan was wounded by a gunman at a rally last November – an attack that killed one of his supporters and injured 13. was behind the conspiracy to kill him.
The shooter was immediately arrested and police later released video of him in custody, reportedly saying he had acted alone.
On Monday, the army in a strongly worded statement criticized Khan for “fabricated and malicious allegations” of his involvement in the November shooting.
Following Khan’s arrest, Sharif, whose government is in an economic spiral and struggling to recover from last year’s devastating floods – which killed hundreds and caused billions of dollars in damage – criticized Khan for attacking the military.
“Let this be abundantly clear that you, as a former prime minister, currently on trial for corruption, are claiming legitimacy to overthrow the legal and political system,” Sharif tweeted.
