Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been taken into custody by the Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary force under the Interior Ministry, while waiting to appear at a hearing at the Islamabad High Court.
In a statement, Islamabad police said that Khan was arrested in connection with allegations that Bahria Town, a real estate company, allotted land worth Rs 530 million (US$ 1.86 million) to the Al-Qadir Trust, which is owned by the PTI leader and his wife Bushra Bibi.
The Rangers took the PTI leader away before he could submit to biometric procedures at the courthouse, said Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, another PTI leader.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s anti-corruption and economic crime watchdog, had issued the arrest warrant against the 70-year-old former cricket star on 1 May.
“The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.
In March, the current government, led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, had tried to arrest Khan, after he was accused, among other things, of failing to disclose gifts from foreign officials and reselling them for personal profit.
The police, who had surrounded his home in Lahore, had to desist because of opposition put up by his supporters.
In April 2022, Khan lost a vote of confidence in parliament and was forced to resign, setting off a political crisis.
For certain observers, Khan fell from power after he lost the support of Pakistan’s military, the real seat of power in the country, which had initially backed his rise.
Since then, the PTI leader has become the most popular politician in Pakistan; according to the latest polls, if elections were held right now, he could get up to 60 per cent of the vote.
For this reason, Khan has been pushing for early elections. To this end, his party dissolved provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hoping that provincial elections, set for next Sunday, could be held together with the general elections (actually scheduled for October).
According to some experts, the current government, which is doing everything it can to stop the PTI, could achieve the opposite effect. After Khan’s arrest, anti-government protests broke out in several cities.
