In a major development, Secretary General Asad Umar has been arrested from the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) premises. The arrest comes just a day after PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested.
According to the details, Asad Umar was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Islamabad police. PTI lawyers tried stopping the police from arresting Asad Umar but their efforts went in vain.
Asad Umar was in the IHC to file a petition to seek a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan whose legal team had been denied permission to meet him. The security forces took Asad Umar away when he came out of the office of the Islamabad Bar Association to go to the Supreme Court to file an identical petition.
PTI leader Babar Awan, who is also a part of Khan’s legal team, had earlier told the media that nobody is being allowed to meet the PTI chief which is against the Constitution.
اسد عمر بھی گرفتار
چیف جسٹس اسلام آباد ہائیکورٹ کو اب روزانہ احاطہ عدالت سے شہریوں کی گرفتاری کا تحفہ دیا جائیگا— Sabir Shakir (@ARYSabirShakir) May 10, 2023
Footage of Asad Umar arrest. pic.twitter.com/hjYi7xmAek
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) May 10, 2023
Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday by Rangers on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an autonomous anti-graft agency, in relation to the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Read more: Congressman reacts to Imran Khan’s arrest
After his arrest, protests erupted across the country as Imran Khan’s supporters took to the streets demanding his release. There were also reports of clashes between PTI supporters and the police.
Meanwhile, a crackdown against PTI leaders also intensified as their houses were raided. Anti-corruption Punjab on Wednesday arrested former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema.
Omar Sarfraz Cheema was arrested from his residence early in the morning and has been accused of misusing his powers as governor and giving his sister a share by forging the family registration certificate.
According to the family of the PTI leader, ‘unknown’ men in plain clothes took Omar Cheema into custody. They did not inform on which charges they took Omar Cheema into custody, the family added.
Read more: Nationwide protests disrupt traffic and cause chaos in Pakistan