Islamabad: Ex Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrested

Islamabad : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday just as he was entering the Islamabad High Court for a hearing in one of dozens of cases pending since he was ousted from office last year.

The 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician was taken into custody from the court premises by paramilitary forces; leaders from his party, Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have alleged that the police entered the court, smashed the glass window of the room where his biometric data was being taken, and dragged him outside.

The arrest comes a day after the country’s powerful army had accused Khan of levelling baseless allegations against a senior officer of the spy agency ISI.

Imran Khan was arrested in the Qadir Trust case (which concerns allegations that Bahria Town allotted land worth millions to Al-Qadir Trust, owned by the PTI chairman Khan and his wife), Islamabad Police tweeted in Urdu, adding that the situation is “normal”.

However, the dramatic manner of the arrest has many questioning if the arrest was on the merits of the case alone. “Section 144 is in force and action will be taken in case of violation,” Islamabad police warned as PTI called for supporters to take to the streets in protest.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah tweeted that Imran Khan had failed to appear before the court despite being issued several notices. “The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury. No violence was done to him,” he tweeted in Urdu.