Tuesday night, the Islamabad High Court reserved its decision on whether or not PTI leader Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir trust issue was lawful.
After PTI leader Imran Khan was arrested by a team of rangers on the courthouse grounds for two separate instances, IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq acted swiftly.
On Tuesday, former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan were arrested in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case by a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with the assistance of the Rangers, drawing the attention of the IHC. The NAB decided that because Imran Khan had ignored its notices, his detention was “completely in line with the law and as per NAB ordinance.”
Arrest Warrant for Imran Khan
Lt. Gen. Nazir Ahmed, Chairman of the NAB, signed the arrest warrant for Imran. By Section 9(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, it was said that the PTI leader had been charged with corruption and corrupt practices.
After appearing in two cases at the Islamabad High Court, Imran Khan’s cousin Saifullah Niazi said the PTI leader had been arrested there. He’s now working out of the NAB Rawalpindi branch. Pakistan Rangers soldiers aided the NAB team’s operation.
Islamabad’s police chief tweeted that Imran Khan has been detained in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust scandal. Mr. Khan, he added, was presented with the warrant before he was taken into custody.
Chief Justice Amir Farooq of the Islamabad High Court acted swiftly, bringing the IGP and the Secretary of the Interior before the court within 15 minutes of the first incident reports. He emphasized the importance of making it clear in which case Imran Khan was arrested. It was wrong, he said.
If the IGP and the Secretary of the Interior did not attend court, he said he would not hesitate to call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He went even further, threatening to sue the prime minister and other cabinet members. The police chief later showed up in court and testified that Imran Khan’s arrest was lawful per the warrant. He denied that the PTI leader had been tortured.
Meanwhile, Islamabad’s police chief, Akbar Nasir Khan, testified before the IHC and claimed that Imran Khan was lawfully detained. He went on to say that the NAB might enlist the aid of any organization to carry out its mission.
The court was unhappy that the Secretary had not shown up. The court was recessed for half an hour while the director general of NAB and the prosecutor general were brought in from Rawalpindi. Responding to inquiries from the IHC chief justice, the Director General of NAB Rawalpindi and the prosecutor general appeared in court.
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