NAB gets 8-day physical remand of Imran Khan

An accountability court Wednesday sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on an eight-day physical remand to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Before this, a district and sessions court in Islamabad indicted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case.

The hearing of the Toshakhana case was held in the guest house of Police Lines, Islamabad where Imran Khan had been produced.

The commissioner’s office gave the status of a court to the Police Lines due to security reasons.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar indicted Imran Khan in the case.

Imran Khan had boycotted the court proceedings. “Imran Khan does not have confidence in the honourable judge. A plea has been submitted to transfer the case,” Imran Khan’s lawyer Sher Murawat said.

Earlier, an accountability court of Islamabad reserved its judgement on the grant of 14-day physical remand of Imran Khan to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan was heard by the court in Police Lines, Islamabad.

Imran Khan’s lawyers opposed the request of physical remand by the NAB, stating that there was no jurisdiction of the NAB in the case.

“The NAB did not even share the inquiry report,” they said, adding that getting a fair trial was the fundamental right of Imran Khan.

“Media are not being allowed to enter the court room set up in the police lines. Imran Khan’s trial should be carried out in open court according to the law,” they stated.

The NAB officials told the court that they had warrants for Imran Khan’s arrest.

Imran Khan’s lawyers, however, refuted the statement of the NAB officials, stating that Imran Khan had been given the arrest warrant after his arrest.

Imran Khan also recorded his statement before the accountability court, saying: “I have not been allowed to go to the washroom for 24 hours. Call my physician Dr Faisal. It is feared that I too face the same fate as Maqsood Chaprasi did.”

Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing.

Earlier, owing to edgy law and order situation, the government has decided to relocate the accountability and district courts where PTI Chairman Imran Khan will be produced in connection with Al Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases today.

New Police Guest House inside Islamabad Police Lines has been given the court status.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which led the operation to arrest the former prime minister from outside the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday, will seek physical remand of Imran Khan from the accountability court. Imran Khan was shifted to Police Lines from a NAB office early on Wednesday.

Imran Khan will appear Wednesday in the special court at the federal capital's police headquarters to answer graft charges, a day after his shock arrest prompted violent nationwide protests.

2,000 personnel deployed outside Police Lines

More than 2,000 police personnel have been deployed outside Police Lines, Islamabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

According to the police sources, monitoring of the police lines with the help of CCTV and drone cameras is being carried out.

The entry of non-related persons has strictly been prohibited, and the PTI leaders too could not get permission to enter the court in their vehicles.

The team of the PTI lawyers will also reach the court through shuttle service.

NAB Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar’s car was allowed to enter the court.

“Section 144 is imposed. No one will be allowed to take the law into own hands,” police said.

Over 100 workers were arrested yesterday for violating Section 144 in Islamabad, it had been reported.

The police had used tear gas to disperse protesters. 

Imran Khan's detention follows months of political crisis and came hours after the powerful military rebuked the former prime minister for alleging that a senior officer had been involved in a plot to kill him.

Some protesters took out their wrath on the military, torching the residence of the corps commander in Lahore and laying siege to the Army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

In Peshawar, a mob razed the Chaghi monument -- a mountain-shaped sculpture honouring the location of Pakistan's first nuclear test.

Police fought pitched battles with supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in cities across the country for hours on Tuesday night, made hundreds of arrests and registered cases against PTI workers.

Local media reported two deaths in those clashes.

Tempers appeared to have cooled on Wednesday morning, but there was a huge security presence across the capital, particularly outside the so-called Police Lines where the special court will convene.

Authorities also ordered schools shuttered across the country, and continued restricting access to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

"At a time we are already struggling to feed our children, further uncertainty has been created," Farooq Bhatti, a van driver, told AFP in Rawalpindi Wednesday morning. "The violence will not serve anyone... everyone will be affected... but I doubt the decision makers care."

PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi urged supporters to keep protesting in a "lawful and peaceful manner", adding party lawyers would file multiple appeals and petitions against Imran Khan's arrest.

The charge that led to Khan's undoing Tuesday was brought by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country's top anti-corruption body, which said he had ignored repeated summons to appear in court.

Imran Khan has faced dozens of charges since being ousted in April -- a tactic analysts say successive governments have used to silence their opponents.

Imran Khan could be barred from holding public office if convicted, which would exclude him from elections scheduled for later this year.

Pakistan is deeply mired in an economic and political crisis, with Imran Khan pressuring the struggling coalition government for early elections. He has been increasingly outspoken against the establishment, relying on near-fanatical support from the huge crowds that accompany his public appearances to protect him from arrest.

But authorities pounced during what was supposed to be a routine court appearance Tuesday.

Imran Khan, who has a pronounced limp since being shot during an assassination attempt last year, was manhandled by dozens of security personnel into an armoured car outside the Islamabad High Court premises.

Reporter Ehtisham Kiyani and Farzana Siddique