RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former prime minister Imran Khan will appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi on Tuesday (today) in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case amidst apprehension of his rearrest by the anti-graft body and law-enforcing agencies.
The former premier will also appear before courts in Islamabad today, seeking an extension in his bail in a slew of cases registered against him.
On Saturday (May 20), the former prime minister, who has been facing a number of court cases, agreed to appear before the NAB Rawalpindi office on May 23 in the £190m settlement from the UK case commonly known as Al-Qadir Trust case. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi would accompany his spouse.
Apart from this, the PTI chairman will also appear in the Anti-Terrorism Court for the extension of interim bail in the cases registered under the provisions of terrorism. On the other hand, Khan is also likely to reach the Islamabad High Court to get biometrics done in connection with new bail requests in new cases.
Chairman PTI, in his reply to the NAB said that he will be available in Islamabad on May 23 to pursue a number of pre-arrest bails and “shall be free from the courts to join the investigation by 11am”.
He also sought the inquiry report that was delivered to him by NAB after his arrest, saying that he had left it at the Islamabad Police Lines Rest House where he was kept.
On May 18, the PTI chief skipped an appearance at the NAB Rawalpindi office in the same case. He informed the body that he was in Lahore in connection with his bail pleas in multiple cases that is why he does not have the time to join the investigation.
On May 9, violent protests, triggered by Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, hit the streets almost across the country, which led to the deaths of at least 11 people and injured several others, prompting the authorities to arrest thousands of PTI workers in subsequent crackdown. Civil and military installations — including the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and Corps Commander House (Jinnah House) in Lahore — also came under attack by the miscreants on the very day.
However, the apex court ordered his release on May 11 and directed him to appear before the Islamabad High Court the next day. The military and the government alike have vowed to try the vandals who attacked army properties under the Pakistan Army Act, Official Secrets Act, and other laws.
Imran believes there are 80 percent chances that he will be arrested again today given the government’s naked impatience to arrest him in one case or the other as he is currently facing over 100 cases of different charges including terrorism, corruption, blasphemy, sedition, contempt of court, etc.
While giving an interview to CNN on Sunday, the former premier said: “On Tuesday, I am to appear in Islamabad for bails and there are 80 percent chances I will be arrested. Right now, there is no rule of law in the country. We are heading towards the law of the jungle and might is right in the country.”
“Now, the problem I am facing is that somehow the PDM parties have aligned themselves with the establishment and convinced them that if there are elections, they are going to lose, which is a fact. Now, in order to keep me out, the whole democratic system is being dismantled. The government does not listen to the Supreme Court and does not follow the Constitution. The way they had used the pretext of arson […] they blamed us for the arson when I was grabbed from the high court by the army and the way I was grabbed, there was a reaction. But they have used that reaction, unfortunately, to dismantle the party. Over 10,000 PTI workers have been jailed – a lot of women have been jailed, which has never happened before. They are now thinking to try us in the military courts,” Imran said.
On Thursday evening, the Supreme Court declared Khan’s arrest “unlawful” and instructed authorities to present Khan before the Islamabad High Court on Friday.
The Al-Qadir Trust case concerns land that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi bought from property tycoon Malik Riaz for their Al-Qadir University Trust to build an educational institute. The NAB has alleged that Khan’s PTI government struck a deal with Malik Riaz in a quid pro quo arrangement in which it is accused of helping Malik Riaz launder more than $239m while causing a loss to the national exchequer.
While waiting for the resumption of hearing in his cases at the Islamabad High Court, Imran Khan told reporters he had been “abducted” from the Islamabad High Court premises on Tuesday.
“I was sitting in the [Islamabad] High Court. They had no reason to arrest me. I was abducted from here. And when I was taken away, only then I was shown the warrant for arrest,” the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said.
“Is this the rule of jungle? And the military abducted me. Where is the police? Where is the law? It almost seems like martial law has been declared here,” Khan said. Khan’s arrest sparked deadly countrywide protests, which saw his supporters fight with police and paramilitary forces. Angry crowds in several cities stormed public and private buildings, including military installations, and set many of them on fire. The authorities said they have made more than 2,500 arrests, including top PTI leaders.
To restore order, the government also deployed the military in Islamabad as well as in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces – both strongholds of Khan’s PTI.
Mobile internet access remained down for days across the country to check the protests while social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were blocked on the government’s orders.
PM Shehbaz Sharif’s government on Thursday announced to rearrest Khan even if he was provided relief by the Islamabad court. “We will arrest him again. If he gets bail from the high court tomorrow [Friday], we will wait for the cancellation of bail and arrest him again,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said while talking to a private TV channel.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan has asked his supporters to remain peaceful in case of arrest today. “I urge people to remain peaceful because if you get violent, they will get a chance to crack down again. We have to always protest peacefully.”
The PTI chief is facing charges of corruption of billions of rupees in the case involving the property tycoon.
NAB officials were earlier probing the alleged misuse of powers in the process of recovery of “dirty money” received from the United Kingdom crime agency. Following the emergence of “irrefutable evidence” in the case, the inquiry was converted into an investigation.
