Graft to gifts, troubles compound for Imran

Former Pakistani premier Imran Khan’s legal woes increased on Wednesday as a court handed him over to the country’s anti-graft body for eight days for questioning and another court indicted him for allegedly selling state gifts while in power.

The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called in the army to quell unrest triggered by Khan’s arrest on Tuesday and warned protesters against further attacks on state installations. At least six people died in two days of violent protests in Pakistani cities, including a person who died from smoke inhalation after a building was set on fire in Lahore.

In a late night televised address to the nation, Sharif said there was evidence against Khan in the so-called Al-Qadir Trust case related to alleged money laundering. He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is conducting the investigation in this case on the basis of evidence and questioned how Khan’s cabinet was kept “completely in the dark” about the issue.

Sharif alleged Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party committed the “unforgivable crime” of enmity against the state through their protests after the former premier’s arrest. “Terrorists” and “enemies of the state” should immediately stop their “anti-state activities” and miscreants will be dealt with an iron hand and given exemplary punishment, Sharif said.

Khan, 70, who has mounted an unprecedented campaign against the powerful military after he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, was arrested by NAB, an anti-graft body, with help from the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers, a force led by army officers.

NAB said it acted after Khan ignored repeated notices to join the investigation into what has come to be known as the Al Qadir Trust case.

Khan faces allegations that he and his wife obtained billions of rupees and vast tracts of land from the firm of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz for laundering ₹50 billion that was identified and returned to Pakistan by the UK’s National Crime Agency following a probe against Riaz.

The hearing of both the Al-Qadir Trust case and the case related to Khan allegedly retaining or selling expensive gifts from foreign dignitaries was held amid tight security at Islamabad Police Lines.

NAB sought custody of Khan for 14 days but the judge handed him over to the agency for eight days for questioning. The judge also asked NAB to present Khan before him on May 17.

A NAB prosecutor told the judge that the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency had investigated the matter and that the funds received from Britain were transferred to Riaz’s firm instead of being handed over to the government.

The prosecutor also refuted Khan’s allegation that he was not provided the warrant at the time of his arrest.

In the so-called “Toshakhana case”, in which Khan is accused of retaining state gifts in an illegal manner, another judge framed charges against the former prime minister. The judge indicted the head of PTI for “deliberately concealing” details of gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana or repository for presents received by government officials from foreign leaders.

Khan denied the charges and reiterated his earlier claims that he had done no wrong.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had sought action against Khan under the criminal law in this case. In October last year, the Election Commission found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts during 2018-22 and barred him from holding public office until the next election.

Adding to Khan’s legal problems, the Islamabad high court ruled that his arrest on Tuesday was legal.

Khan’s legal team thereafter challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which turned down the plea while citing various reasons.

Strict security arrangements were put in place around the Islamabad Police Lines before the hearing of the two cases and nearby roads were blocked off with empty containers. The cricketer-turned-politician is being held in a police guest house in Islamabad.

The government used a constitutional provision to call in the army to support civilian law enforcement agencies after Khan’s supporters stormed military buildings and vandalised the corps commander’s residence in the eastern city of Lahore.

Other government buildings and assets attacked and set ablaze before the government approved requests from authorities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and the federal capital of Islamabad to deploy army troops.

Mobile data services were shut down for a second day on Wednesday while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook were disrupted.

PTI secretary general Asad Umar, a close aide of Khan, was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of police from the Islamabad high court complex on Wednesday. Umar was nabbed while he and other PTI leaders were preparing to file a plea in the high court to seek a meeting with Khan.

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, another close aide of Khan, denied reports that he too had been arrested.

“Every kind of strategy is in place to spread disinformation, create chaos, panic and terror to try and break the spirit of our party and supporters,” he said in a tweet. “The people of Pakistan will NOT sit in their homes,” he added.