On May 11, 2023, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in Islamabad in connection with corruption involving the Al-Qadir University Trust, which is headed by his wife Bushra Bibi.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) stated that Khan was arrested for the crime of corruption in the trust. The PTI party, which Khan leads, denied the charges, stating that he had not been issued any arrest warrant prior to his arrest. However, a top police official confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued on May 01, 2023.
Khan has faced over 100 cases, including corruption, terrorism, and blasphemy, since being removed from power in April 2022. He denies the charges as politically motivated and has accused political parties and the military of colluding to remove him from power. He also previously accused the US of conspiring in his removal, a charge he has since retracted.
The Al-Qadir University Trust case:
On May 11, 2023, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested in connection with corruption related to the Al-Qadir University Trust case.
Last June, the coalition government accused Khan and his wife of obtaining land worth billions of rupees for their trust from a major property tycoon, Malik Riaz, to build an educational institute. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has alleged that Khan's PTI government struck a deal with Riaz that caused a loss of more than $239m to the national exchequer in a quid pro quo arrangement. While Riaz agreed to hand over assets, including properties worth $239m, to the UK's National Crime Agency in an investigation related to "dirty money," Khan and his government were not directly linked to the case.
‘Procedure not followed’
According to lawyers cited by Al Jazeera, the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan may be illegal due to changes made to NAB laws last year. The lawyers say that the NAB must issue multiple notices to the accused before an arrest warrant can be issued and that warrants can be issued only if the accused has repeatedly failed to cooperate or has willfully avoided arrest. Khan has denied the charges of corruption, and the lawyers suggest that the case to keep him detained looks weak, and he may be able to obtain bail. The NAB, however, stated that Khan did not respond to summoning notices and that his arrest has been made in accordance with the law.
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