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Pakistan: A day after former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested, the crackdown on his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and his close aides intensified with the late-night arrest of the party’s senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry from outside the country’s Supreme Court premises.
The turmoil situation in Pakistan following the arrest of Khan reached new heights on Wednesday as violent protests spread across the country which forced the government for the deployment of the army in several places including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad, in order to maintain law and order situation.
Notably, the violence has also claimed at least four lives in Peshawar with Sindh imposing Section 144 to contain the violent protests staged by the former ruling party workers and supporters.
Imran Khan arrested during routine hearing
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Khan was arrested on Tuesday during a routine hearing in Islamabad and was remanded in custody for eight days on fresh corruption charges. Tuesday’s arrest was based on a new warrant from the National Accountability Bureau obtained last week in a separate graft case for which Khan had not obtained bail, making him vulnerable to arrest. He is scheduled to appear before an anti-graft tribunal on Wednesday, officials said.
Fawad Chaudhry was present inside the Pakistan Supreme Court since 11 am in a bid to evade arrest, as per Geo News. Chaudhry was arrested after he came out of the apex court premises. The Islamabad police has arrested Chaudhry under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Ordinance (MPO) and shifted him to the Secretariat Police Station.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tweeted, “SVP @fawadchaudhry has been arrested outside Supreme Court despite having protective bail from IHC till 12th May. Law of the jungle is ruling in Pakistan.”
‘Never has a petitioner been arrested in such a manner’
Speaking to reporters before his arrest, PTI leader Chaudhry said the powerful lawyers’ community had become weak as there was infighting. He said, “Never has a petitioner been arrested in such a manner,” Geo News reported. He further said that Islamabad High Court had a day earlier, approved his pre-arrest bail which he had shown to Islamabad police earlier in the day.
He further said Khan’s arrest has led to a division in the country, as per the Geo News report. He also called for giving space to political opponents to pave the way for dialogue. Before Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested PTI Secretary General Asad Umar from the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
Imran Khan’s party has claimed that 47 of its workers died, and 1000 were arrested in clashes with security forces. It also said that five party leaders including Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, Ali Zaidi and Akram Usman were arrested.
What leads to Imran’s arrest
Notably, Khan was wounded by a gunman at a rally in November, an attack that killed one of his supporters and wounded 13. On several occasions, he claimed Army and intelligence officials behind his assassination plot. He even claimed West for the attack.
Recently, he doubled down on an attack on the Pakistani army without offering any evidence, that there is a plot to assassinate him, alleging that Pakistan’s spy agency was behind the conspiracy.
Earlier today, he again issued a video message before heading to Islamabad, saying he was “mentally prepared” for arrest there. However, this did not lead to his arrest. According to govt officials, he was arrested in a corruption case.
Corruption case that leads to Khan’s arrest
Tuesday’s arrest was based on a new warrant from the National Accountability Bureau obtained last week in a separate graft case for which Khan had not obtained bail, making him vulnerable to arrest. He is scheduled to appear before an anti-graft tribunal on Wednesday, officials said.
“Imran Khan has been arrested because he was being sought in a graft case,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told a news conference. He alleged Pakistan’s treasury had lost millions of dollars while Khan was in office due to illegal purchases of lands from a business tycoon.
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