Pakistan's Former PM Imran Khan arrested from IHC premises

In a shocking turn of events, PTI chief Imran Khan, who was present at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for two hearings on Tuesday afternoon, was arrested from the court’s premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Islamabad police released a statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir as saying that Imran had been arrested in relation to the case, which alleges that the PTI chief and his wife obtained billions of rupees from a real estate firm for legalizing a laundered amount of Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.

IHC summons officials

PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry had initially confirmed news of Imran’s arrest to Dawn.com, that had prompted IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to direct the Islamabad police chief, the interior ministry secretary, and the additional attorney general to appear before the court within 15 minutes.

The IHC CJ said that he was showing “restraint” and warned that he would “summon” the prime minister if the Islamabad police chief did not appear before the court.

“Come to court and tell us why Imran has been arrested and in which case,” Justice Farooq said.

When the hearing resumed, the Islamabad IG appeared before the court alongside the additional attorney general and the interior secretary.

“We told you to appear in court within 15 minutes but you came after 45 minutes,” the IHC CJ observed, expressing anger at the delay.

The Islamabad IG replied that he had found out about Imran’s arrest from the media. “He has been arrested in a case pertaining to corrupt practices,” he told the judge and submitted the PTI chief’s arrest warrant in court.

“But as far as I know and from what the court staff said, Imran was not arrested by the NAB,” Justice Farooq noted. “I will issue an appropriate order if the arrest was in violation of the law,” he added.

Subsequently, Barrister Gohar Khan — who was present at the time of the arrest — came to the rostrum. He said that he was with Imran when he was taken away by Rangers officials.

“They were trying to arrest the PTI chief before he even entered the biometric room,” the lawyer said, adding that Rangers personnel broke down the windows and used pepper spray.

“They hit Imran Khan sahib with a rod,” Gohar told the court and then said that he was ready to record his statement with the court in this regard.

“I have seen all this from my own eyes,” he said. “They also struck his injured leg […] they have violated judicial independence and fundamental rights,” the lawyer said.

For his part, PTI lawyer Khawaja Haris said that justice was every citizen’s right. “Today’s arrest is nothing less than an attack on judicial independence,” he contended.

Haris further argued that the law did not allow the NAB to arrest a person while an inquiry was still underway.

“Imran Khan was in the process of getting his biometrics done […] I was there in the room,” Advocate Ali Bukhari, another PTI lawyer said.

“The Rangers told us to open the doors but the police objected,” he stated. “But then Rangers personnel broke the windows and entered the room. Rangers tortured everyone who was present in the room,” he added.

On the other hand, PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that the party wanted the IHC to form a full court to hear the case. “Your court was attacked, my court was attacked. We request you to restore the dignity of this court,” he added.

At one point during the hearing, Justice Farooq stated that the court had exercised “restraint” throughout the matter. “Do not test my patience.”

The IHC CJ stated that he never knew that the accountability watchdog could carry out an arrest in such a manner.

“Is this not an attack on judicial independence? Is this arrest not illegal? Everything is in front of you […] lawyers have been attacked […] my court has been attacked […] I have been attacked,” Justice Farooq remarked.

The judge took strong exception over the arrest taking place at the IHC premises.

At this point, the additional attorney general retorted whether the parking lot and other areas of the IHC should be considered the same as the courtroom.

At that, lawyers inside the courtroom chanted, “shame shame”.

Meanwhile, IG Nasir said that he was not aware of the details of the arrest, to which Justice Farooq said that the lawyers had narrated the entire ordeal.

“If you give me a chance, I can look into the matter,” the police chief said.

Here, the IHC CJ pointed out: “My brothers are standing here in this condition today […] who is responsible for this?

“The damage to the windows and doors is not important. The damage to the dignity of this building is important.”

Justice Farooq added that the entire matter concerned the “system.” “Without the system, how will anything function?” he said and sought the authorities' answers regarding these questions.

The judge also summoned the director general of NAB Rawalpindi and the watchdog’s prosecutor general, directing them to appear before the court within 30 minutes.

Imran ‘tortured’ during arrest

Barrister Gohar Khan, who was present at the IHC during the PTI chief’s arrest, alleged Imran was “tortured.”

“They hit Imran’s head and leg,” he told Dawn.com, claiming that Rangers had arrested the ex-premier. Gohar further stated that the PTI chairman’s wheelchair was also tossed aside during the arrest.

In a video posted on the PTI’s official Twitter account, Gohar said that Rangers officials broke down the high court’s main gate and windows before “tearing apart” the area where biometric verification is carried out.

He said Rangers officials used pepper spray and tear gas shells, alleging that Imran was hit on the head and his injured leg with “hard objects.” He further alleged that Imran’s wheelchair, where he had arrived at the court, was also tossed aside.

He said that all the officials at the scene belonged to the Rangers and that there were “no police at the scene”.