Over 200 supporters of Imran Khan detained since his arrest, says Pak police
More than 200 supporters of Imran Khan, together with those that resisted the previous prime minister’s arrest in a corruption case, have been arrested throughout Pakistan’s Punjab province, police introduced on Tuesday.
Khan, 70, was arrested from his Zaman Park residence on Saturday shortly after an Islamabad trial courtroom discovered him responsible of “corrupt practices” within the Toshakhana case and sentenced him to 3 years in jail. Khan, additionally the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) get together, is at the moment lodged within the Attock Jail in Punjab province.
According to Punjab police, greater than 200 PTI get together office-bearers and staff have been arrested from totally different elements of the province since Khan’s arrest.
The PTI, nonetheless, alleged that the police not solely arrested its staff as they have been protesting towards Khan’s arrest but additionally raided the homes of its workplace bearers to take them into custody in Punjab province.
Over a dozen of Khan’s supporters have been booked below terrorism fees, police stated.
According to the FIR, these current with the ex-premier, together with his media group members, threatened the police group that got here to arrest him on Saturday.
“They attacked and snatched the official guns from the policemen and pointed weapons at them and threatened to kill them. Police later overpowered and arrested them,” the FIR says.
Meanwhile, the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), the lawyer’s wing of the PTI, held an indication outdoors the Lahore High Court each on Monday and Tuesday and chanted slogans towards the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition authorities and its backers –the navy establishment– for sentencing their chief in a ‘faux case’.
ILF chief, Advocate Sardar Azeemullah Khan, stated the nation is heading in the direction of anarchy and darkness.
“It seems the Constitution no longer exists, and there is no rule of law in Pakistan. The courts have failed to protect the Constitution and the rights of the people,” he stated.
He stated the Islamabad trial courtroom decide Humayun Dilawar didn’t settle for proof from Khan’s attorneys and introduced the choice in haste, leaving for the UK the identical night time.
Khan on Tuesday challenged his conviction within the Toshakhana corruption case, saying the decision by a “biased” decide was a “slap in the face due process and fair trial” and “a gross travesty of justice”.
He has appealed his conviction and the three-year jail sentence by submitting a plea via his attorneys – Khawaja Haris and Gohar Ali Khan – on the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Khan has been lodged within the Attock jail, the place he complained that he’s stored in appalling circumstances.
“He says the jail authorities have thrown some sweets in the cell to attract flies, making it difficult for him to sleep. Besides, he is not allowed food from home and Jai namaz (a piece of rug) to offer prayer, and also there is an open washroom,” stated Khan’s lawyer Naeem Haider Panjotha, after a gathering with the previous premier.
The cricketer-turned-politician has been accused of illegally promoting state presents for revenue value USD 497,500. Khan has denied wrongdoings, saying he legally purchased the presents from Toshakhana, a government-owned treasure home.
This is the second time in three months that Khan has been arrested.
Earlier, he was arrested on May 9 in Islamabad from the excessive courtroom’s premises within the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, sparking violent protests by his supporters.
Khan faces greater than 140 circumstances throughout the nation and fees like terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption and homicide.
Edited By:
Aishwarya Dakhore
Published On:
Aug 8, 2023
