Ex-PM Imran Khan arrested in Islamabad
Pakistani Justice Movement Party (PTI) leader Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary units outside the Islamabad High Court. According to national media reports, Khan arrived in Islamabad from Lahore to attend the hearings of the cases against him. Faisal Chaudri, one of the PTI lawyers, confirmed the development, but it remains unclear why Han was arrested as over 90 lawsuits have been filed against him.
This latest development came after Khan accused a senior intelligence official of being behind the assassination attempt against him. However, the Pakistani military described his allegations as “irresponsible and unfounded”. In a statement on May 7, Khan continued his allegations that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and Deputy Chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Major General Faisal Nasir were behind the assassination plot against him.
Khan started a march from Lahore to Islamabad on October 28, 2022, on the grounds that the coalition government did not declare early elections. On November 3, 2022, Khan was attacked and wounded in both legs when his convoy was fired upon in Wazirabad. One person was killed, and 13 others were injured in the attack.
In Pakistan’s parliamentary confidence vote on April 10, Imran Khan’s government fell with 174 “no” votes. Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif, who served as prime minister for three terms in the country, was elected prime minister with the support of the absolute majority with 174 votes in the election held in the parliament on April 11.
The reasons behind Imran Khan’s arrest are yet to be known, and it is unclear what the future holds for the Pakistani leader. As the situation unfolds, many eagerly anticipate more information about the situation and what it will mean for Pakistan’s political landscape.
