From Treason To Blasphemy - Imran Khan Faces 121 Cases Across Pakistan

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, who was arrested by paramilitary Rangers today, is facing 121 cases across the country, including committing treason and blasphemy and inciting violence and terrorism.

Imran Khan, who travelled from Lahore to the federal capital Islamabad, was undergoing a biometric process at the court when the Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him after beating lawyers and Khan's security staff, according to senior party leader Shireen Mazari.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by 70-year-old Khan recently submitted a list of cases to the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The list states that 31 cases have been registered against Khan in the federal capital and 30 cases and call-up notices have been issued in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

These cases are related to various charges like treason, blasphemy, committing and inciting violence and terrorism.

According to the list, 12 cases of terrorism have been registered against Imran in Lahore and 14 cases have been registered in Faisalabad. Some 22 terrorism cases have been registered against Imran Khan across the country.

An Islamabad court is set to indict him on May 10 in a case in which he allegedly hid the proceeds from the sale of state gifts.

On November 19 last year, the National Accountability Bureau had taken notice of the alleged non-disclosure of the actual value of gifts received by the former prime minister, his wife, and other cabinet members. Sources privy to the matter said that there was a discrepancy between the actual value of the gifts received by the former prime minister and the sale.

The inquiry proceedings have revealed that during Mr Khan's tenure as premier, he retained some state gifts presented to him by various foreign dignitaries.

The corruption case for whose hearing he was present at the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday is not included in the list.

Islamabad police released a statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Khan as saying that Imran had been arrested in relation to the case which alleges that Khan and his wife obtained billions of rupees from a real estate firm for legalising Rs 50 billion.

The former prime minister, along with his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders, are facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.

They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 kanals (23.16 hectares) of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.

Imran Khan had previously said more than 140 cases have been filed against him around the country since his ouster as premier last year.

PTI chief Khan was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.

Mr Khan, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)