Global Courant 2023-05-09 18:58:14
Islamabad, Pakistan – Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in connection with corruption involving the Al-Qadir University Trust, headed by Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, during a trial in the capital Islamabad in connection with a separate case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said in a statement that the anti-corruption body had detained the former prime minister “for the crime of corruption” in the trust.
Home Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan confirmed that Khan, the leader of the main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was arrested in a case being prosecuted by the NAB.
“Imran has not appeared despite the reports, NAB has arrested him for damage to the national treasury. No violence was done to them,” the interior minister said in a statement tweet.
PTI leaders have denied the accusations made by the interior minister, adding that Khan has not been issued an arrest warrant for today.
Khan has been slapped with more than 100 counts, including corruption, “terrorism” and even blasphemy, since the 70-year-old was removed from power by a parliamentary vote of no confidence last April.
Khan has maintained that political parties joined forces with the country’s powerful military to remove him from power. He even accused the US of conspiracy in his removal — a charge he has since reversed.
What is the Al-Qadir University Trust case about?
Khan was arrested for an offense related to the Al-Qadir University Trust case. Last June, the new coalition government claimed that former Prime Minister Khan and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees for their trust from Malik Riaz, a major real estate magnate of Pakistan, to build an educational institute.
The NAB has alleged that Khan’s PTI government struck a deal with Riaz that caused a loss of more than $239 million to the national treasury, in a quid pro quo arrangement with the real estate businessman.
In December 2019, Riaz agreed to turn over assets, including properties worth $239 million, to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency in a “dirty money” investigation.
Khan and his government were not directly involved in the case.
‘Procedure not followed’
Attorney Abuzar Salman Niazi has said Khan’s arrest appeared illegal under NAB laws amended last year. According to the Lahore-based lawyer, the NAB is required to issue multiple notices to the accused under the new amendments. And arrest warrants can only be issued in the case of repeated non-cooperation and “willful and intentional” avoidance of arrest.
“Previously, the chairman of the NAB had unfettered powers to issue arrest warrants for any suspect. But after the change in the law, this can no longer happen,” Niazi told Al Jazeera.
Imran Shafique, a former prosecutor of the NAB and a lawyer based in Islamabad, said that while the NAB has the right to arrest any suspect in case of repeated absence, the case of detaining the former prime minister ” looks weak”.
“NAB says they issued multiple notices that Khan took no heed. But according to the revised amendment, the authority must not only complete its investigation first, but also share the report with the accused,” the lawyer told Al Jazeera.
“The new laws make it much easier for the accused to get bail, so it might help Imran Khan,” he added.
Lahore-based lawyer Asad Rahim Khan said Khan’s arrest has little to do with the law and everything to do with fear and persecution.
“Following amendments to the NAB law and given the more general principles of bail in Pakistan, defendants cannot be arrested unless they refuse to cooperate with the investigation, or tamper with evidence, or are considered flight risks,” he told Al Jazeera.
But in a statement issued after the former prime minister’s arrest, the NAB said Khan did not respond to summonses.
“His arrest has been made in accordance with NAB regulation and law,” the statement said.
