Police in Pakistan early yesterday arrested a senior leader of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s party on charges of threatening the chief of the elections overseeing body and other government officials.
The arrest of Fawad Chaudhry, an outspoken critic of the government, is a major setback for his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in which he serves as vice president. The party quickly condemned the arrest and demanded his release.
The arrest took place during a predawn raid at Chaudhry’s home in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, his family said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Shireen Mazari, a spokesperson for Khan’s party, said that Chaudhry was taken in handcuffs straight to court by police in Lahore.
Footage released by the party later showed Chaudhry’s supporters gathered at the court and throwing rose petals at him as police led him toward a courtroom.
Angered over his arrest, hundreds of Chaudhry’s supporters blocked a key highway in Jehlum, his home city in Punjab province, to demand his release.
Photo: Bloomberg
In a statement, Islamabad police said that Chaudhry was arrested on a complaint from the Election Commission of Pakistan on charges of threatening the head of the elections overseeing body, Sikandar Sultan Raja, and other officials.
The threats were meant to prevent them from performing their duties and incite people to violence against them, police said.
On Tuesday, Chaudhry criticized the elections overseeing body for appointing a veteran journalist, Mohsin Naqvi, as caretaker chief minister in Punjab. Khan’s party and its allies were in power in Punjab and held majority seats in the provincial assembly, but dissolved the house earlier this month, a move that apparently sought to pressure the government in Islamabad.
The dissolution of the provincial assembly set in motion snap elections, which under the constitution are to be held within 90 days.
Chaudhry on Tuesday told reporters that Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government could arrest Khan at any time. Khan, who remains popular with a huge grassroots following, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April last year, and has been leading the opposition since.
A former cricket star turned Islamist politician, Khan was wounded in a gun attack while leading a rally toward the capital, Islamabad, in November last year. One of Khan’s supporters was killed and several others were wounded in the shooting.
In October, the elections commission disqualified Khan from holding public office for five years after finding he had unlawfully sold state gifts and concealed assets as prime minister. Khan denies the charge and has filed a motion with a court to challenge the commission.
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