This story first appeared in www.thehindu.com
Violent protests break out after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman was arrested from the Islamabad High Court where he appeared for bail in multiple corruption cases
Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court where he appeared seeking bail in multiple corruption cases, triggering demonstrations across the country that saw his supporters vandalising buildings.
The Rangers personnel were acting on arrest warrants issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
PTI leaders condemned the arrest and asked party workers and supporters to step out and “protest peacefully”.
Mr. Khan’s lawyer Ali Gohar alleged that the Rangers “tortured” the former Prime Minister during the arrest. “Imran Khan was hit on the head and his injured leg,” Mr. Gohar said.
However, the government denied the allegations. “Imran Khan has been arrested by the NAB, which is an independent body. The arrest is not on government orders. Imran Khan always professed that those accused on corruption charges must clear them in courts. Al-Qadir case is a serious corruption case in which Imran Khan allowed £190m recovery of the state to be siphoned to a real estate tycoon in return for personal material favours,” Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, told The Hindu.
Dated May 1 and signed by NAB chairman Lt. Gen. Nazir Ahmed, Mr. Khan’s arrest warrants said he was accused of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 9(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
The Islamabad High Court, late in the evening, declared Mr. Khan’s arrest “legal”. Earlier, the court had reserved its verdict on the legality issue.
Mr. Khan, his wife, Bushra Bibi, and other PTI leaders are facing an NAB inquiry related to an alleged settlement between the PTI government, which was ousted from power in April last year through a no-confidence vote, and property tycoon Malik Riaz, which allegedly caused a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said a laundered amount of £190 million that belonged to a “property tycoon” [Malik Riaz] was caught in the U.K. by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and sent to the government.
According to the law, “this amount rightfully belonged to the people of Pakistan”, Mr. Sanaullah said.
Mr. Khan and others are accused of getting a property registered in the trust’s name as a quid-pro-quo by Mr. Riaz’s real estate company Bahria Town. Mr. Sanaullah alleged that the Al-Qadir Trust was established to hide ‘bribery’. The PTI’s accountability czar, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, is accused of facilitating the deal with the British government.
Mr. Khan was taken to Rawalpindi for questioning at the offices of the NAB, according to the police and government officials
Visuals from several cities in Pakistan on social media showed PTI protesters coming out in support of Mr. Khan. Some visuals showed PTI supporters inside the Corps Commander House in Lahore, vandalising the premises.
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, was arrested in Islamabad in connection with a corruption case. Footage showed security personnel in riot-control gear whisking Khan away in a van https://t.co/9fbbDMv7Da pic.twitter.com/4DA0SfDPAH
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2023
PTI leader Asad Umar said on ARY News that violence was not part of Mr. Khan’s politics. “The most popular leader of the largest political party has been illegally arrested. Protest is our democratic right but Khan has never supported violence.”
He said PTI workers were not violent and was of the opinion that there may be some “pre-planned conspiracy” — like arson and vandalism of buildings — to ban the PTI.
Senior journalist and anchorperson Mohammad Malick said things can never return to business-as-usual between the Army and Mr. Khan, regardless of who commands the GHQ. “Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Khan reaches the stage of popular politics without first safely navigating the minefields of power politics.”
Mr. Malick added that with the Supreme Court also soon getting a rather “unfriendly” chief justice, “things may be far tougher than many imagine them to be”.
Senior journalist Saleem Safi said that initially, there was confusion on both sides whether Mr. Khan and the military establishment would have a face-off.
“Now, it is a real test for both sides after what happened on Tuesday. The biggest challenge for Khan is that he is popular in public, but his party’s second-tier leadership is mostly pro-establishment and a lot of them are not ready for a confrontation with the establishment. Those parties (PDM government) who have allied themselves with the establishment today are unpopular due to rising inflation and bad governance. So now there is a problem for the military establishment on how to save its image,” Mr. Safi said.