Earlier, the court rejected Imran Khan’s plea to suspend a non-releasable arrest warrant.
Islamabad:
Police in Pakistan’s Federal Capital have arrested former Prime Minister and Chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, and his close aide, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, along with dozens of supporters in three cases distinct terrorism-related issues, Dawn reported.
Islamabad police have registered four separate cases against PTI leaders, activists and supporters on different charges including the anti-terrorism law and have arrested more than two dozen people.
The new cases came at a time when Imran Khan is already facing non-releaseable arrest warrants in the Toshakhana case.
In the FIR, registered with the Bhara Kahu police station, Hamid Zaman Kiani, Naseem Abbasi, Shaikh Liaqat and Chaudhry Tariq, along with 40 unidentified people, were charged with creating civil unrest, and 21(i) (aiding and abetting), as well as section 341 (punishment for undue duress), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter an official from performing his duties), 186 (obstructing an official in the performance of his duties public), 506 (penalty for criminal intimidation) and many more, Dawn reported.
Cases have been recorded in Bhara Kahu, Khanna and Tarnol police stations.
The FIR registered in Khanna and Bhara Kahu police stations accused Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the action of the PTI militants. The plaintiffs said PTI activists intimidated traders and forcibly closed their stores. The PTI workers announced that they were obeying the orders of Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the FIR added.
The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the PTI President’s appeal to suspend the non-dischargeable arrest warrants issued in the Toshakhana case, Geo News reported.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the reserved verdict earlier directing relevant authorities to arrest the former prime minister and present him in court on March 18.
As of Wednesday morning, the situation at Khan’s residence in Zaman Park is apparently calm following orders from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to halt the police operation until 10am. But when the court resumed hearing on Thursday, it clarified that it had not stopped police from executing the arrest warrants and asked the PTI to resolve the ongoing issue, Geo News reported.
PTI workers and police clashed for nearly 24 hours as Zaman Park virtually became a battleground, with law enforcement trying to get through supporters and arrest Khan, who was elected Premier minister last April.
Dozens of people, including police and PTI workers, were injured in the operation as law enforcement fired tear gas and party supporters used Molotov cocktails.
The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote early last year. Since then, he has held protest rallies across the country to demand snap elections, in which he was shot and wounded.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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