ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was approached by his legal team after he was arrested by the Islamabad High Court this week, a senior lawyer said, after the National Anti-Corruption Watch seized crores from him. He was questioned on the charge of acquiring land. Dollars in bribes from a real estate tycoon.
Arab media reported that Khan was nabbed by paramilitary Rangers from Islamabad’s judicial complex on the instructions of Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after the former prime minister arrived in court to appear in two different cases.
The arrest sparked violent protests across the country by supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, many of whom stormed government buildings, including the official residence of a top army general. And demanding their release set public property on fire. .
Khan’s legal team also questioned the legality of the proceedings against him as they decided to challenge them before the Supreme Court. He was kept in the dark. Tariq means (he had) no television,” Babar Awan, a senior lawyer for Khan, describing the situation in the former prime minister’s prison. “When I asked him, When spoken to, he said that I will not ask for any facility.
Awan said Khan was different from leaders of other political parties who demanded facilities to make life comfortable in similar situations. When asked if his statement showed that he was in contact with Khan while in custody, he replied after a short pause: “Yes, I live in this city… We are in contact. Find ways to do it.”
In an informal interaction with reporters at the IHC on Friday, Khan said NAB officials had allowed him to use the landline to talk to his wife. The question was raised after the audio leak of his alleged phone call with a party colleague Musarat Jamshed Cheema, which he allegedly made to instruct his party to challenge his arrest in the Supreme Court.
Awan told that Khan did not meet anyone from the country’s powerful security establishment while in custody. “The investigation was conducted exclusively by the NAB,” he said, adding that there was nothing to inquire about, even though all the institutions that Khan had built, including Shaukat Khanum Hospital and Al-Qadir University, were owned by him. There were no personal plans.
Awan maintained that all these institutions had their own independent boards, and that Khan could neither influence nor appoint anyone nor use the funds raised in his name. . He said that not even a penny goes into his pocket.
Khan admitted to investing about $3 million of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) funds in a private housing project in January, though he said the money was later returned.
Asked if the PTI could be declared null and void following the violent protests that followed the arrest of its leader, he dismissed the idea. He said that it is not the government’s job. This is the function of the Supreme Court and it is written in the Constitution.
Awan argued that the Supreme Court was aware of its responsibilities and had already said that it “wants to see Imran Khan in mainstream politics.” Khan’s lawyer, however, was noncommittal when asked if the former prime minister would cooperate with authorities if they summoned them to probe corruption allegations. He added that it should be him who cooperates with his client.
“They say they can’t control [people],” he said. “Enable him [Khan] to control [them]. Don’t file more cases. There are already enough [against them].
Awan was also asked how his party intends to take advantage of May 14, which has been designated by the Supreme Court as the date for elections in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, as the government has postponed the said date. The order to hold voting was clearly rejected. “This bridge is about to be crossed,” he said.
