Anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was apprehended at Islamabad airport early Wednesday while he was departing for Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, according to his lawyer, Advocate Azhar Siddique.
The attempt to arrest Imran Riaz Khan, while he was about to travel for Hajj, by plain-clothes and uniformed officials is absolutely condemnable and once again represents the complete destruction of moral values of Pakistan in last 2 years. Have some sense, your actions hurt… pic.twitter.com/ZcBq9OjGBs
— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 11, 2024
“He was arrested by unidentified individuals accompanied by law enforcement personnel,” Siddique revealed, noting that a scuffle ensued during the incident.
Read more: FIA stops Imran Riaz Khan from boarding Hajj flight at Islamabad Airport
“Imran Riaz has secured bail in all the cases registered against him,” stated the anchorperson’s counsel.
Following the arrest, Siddique filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), seeking clarification on the first information report (FIR) under which Riaz was detained. The petition is currently pending a hearing before a bench.
The petition claims that Riaz was preparing to leave for Hajj from Islamabad when “several plainclothes officers from different authorities arrived and arrested him without explanation,” subsequently transferring him to an undisclosed location.
Read more: Imran Riaz Khan granted bail, returns home
“No information has been provided regarding the FIR used for the applicant’s arrest on the night of 11.06.2024. Therefore, it is necessary for the respondents to appear before this court and disclose which FIRs have been filed against the applicant, leading to his unlawful and arbitrary arrest,” it stated.
Additionally, the petition mentioned that Riaz’s name had been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) the previous day.
The plea requested the court to accept the petition and direct the police, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Secretary Interior, and the Anti-Corruption Establishment to present details of the FIR under which the anchorperson was apprehended.
Earlier on June 3, Imran Riaz was reportedly stopped from boarding a flight for his Hajj pilgrimage at Islamabad Airport, prompting him to take the matter to court.
Earlier this year, Riaz was arrested in a corruption case related to the Dhrabi Lake contract in Chakwal but was later granted bail by a special court. He was subsequently rearrested in another case concerning violence outside PTI founder Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence.
On March 10, an anti-terrorism court granted him post-arrest bail against surety bonds worth Rs200,000.