Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrested outside Islamabad court

Addis Ababa, May 9, 2023 (FBC) – Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested during a court appearance in capital Islamabad over corruption allegations, according to reports from several media outlets.

Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, a leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), confirmed Khan’s arrest to Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

“He went for his biometrics procedure from where he was picked by the Rangers,” she said, referring to the paramilitary force.

Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, a top police official in Islamabad, told Al Jazeera Khan was arrested in a case related to one Al-Qadir Trust.

The National Accountability (NAB) had issued arrest warrant for Khan on May 1 in relation to the case, he said.

Fawad Chaudhry of Khan’s PTI party tweeted that the Islamabad High Court complex was “occupied” by the Pakistani Rangers paramilitary and that lawyers were “being subjected to torture”.

Video footage on local media showed Khan being escorted to a Rangers vehicle and taken to an unknown location.

In a tweet, PTI said the Rangers have “abducted” Khan.

“Pakistan’s brave people must come out and defend their country,” the party posted.

Reports said Aamer Farooq, the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, has ordered government officials to appear before the court over Khan’s arrest.

Khan, 70, was removed from power in April last year after he lost a confidence vote in parliament. Since then, he has been campaigning for early national polls, due in October this year.