Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan arrested in Islamabad
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The former Prime Minister of Pakistan was arrested after he appeared in court on corruption charges.
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Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan who is facing corruption charges appears in court in Islamabad Pakistan on August 25, 2022. (Reuters)
Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, was detained by the military when he appeared in court in Islamabad to face corruption accusations.
According to Fawad Chaudhry, a senior official with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the 72-year-old was detained on the court grounds on Tuesday by operatives from the National Accountability Bureau, the country's anti-corruption organization.
Shortly after Khan passed past the entrance of the Islamabad High Court, paramilitary men and armored personnel carriers followed him. Armored trucks blocked the gate, and Khan was hauled away under tight protection.
Khan was defeated in a no-confidence vote in April of last year. During an interview with Al Mayadeen in March, the former Prime Minister proclaimed that his government was removed "through a conspiracy."
According to Chaudhry, Khan was taken out of court and into a police van. He stated that the former prime minister is presently in the hands of security personnel. He called the arrest "an abduction."
Images of Khan being dragged by security officers towards an armored vehicle, which hauled him away, were broadcast by Pakistan's independent GEO TV.
A brawl broke out between Khan's followers and police as the former premier was hauled away. The brawl wounded some of Khan's attorneys and supporters, as well as numerous police officers, according to Chaudhry.
Khan's party quickly filed a complaint with the Islamabad High Court, which ordered a police report outlining the accusations that led to Khan's incarceration.
He considered that all parties to the conspiracy to remove him from power are terrified of the upcoming elections because they are very well aware that his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will "sweep the elections."
According to anti-corruption officials, Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau filed arrest warrants for Khan last week in a different graft case in which he had not gotten bail, which would have protected him from arrest under the country's rules. According to the authorities, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Khan will appear before an anti-corruption tribunal later on Tuesday.
Khan had come to Islamabad earlier in the day from the adjacent city of Lahore, where he stays, to face allegations in various corruption cases before the Islamabad high court. He claims that the succession of proceedings filed against him, including terrorism allegations, are a ploy by the Sharif administration to destroy the former cricketer-turned-politician.
The former Pakistani Prime Minister confirmed that he currently faces 77 lawsuits for the same reason and brought to the audience's attention that new lawsuits continue to be filed against him -- the latest of which is blasphemy and sowing sedition and terrorism -- stressing that the point is to keep him away from the political arena.
Khan noted that he was expecting an assassination attempt against him and that he named, about two months ago in two public rallies, the parties that tried to assassinate him, namely the two families or the "mafias" who had ruled Pakistan, along with Pakistani intelligence officer General Faisal, whom he called out by name when he survived the assassination attempt.
