—— PTI Chief indicted in Toshakhana Gift case
—— Countrywide riots continue for second day
—— SC rejects petition challenging High Court verdict
—— Accountability Court directs NAB to present PTI Chief on May 17
—— Imran Khan fears he may be ‘killed in prison by slow poisoning’
—— Asad Umar also arrested from IHC premises
—— Despite 12-hour dodging, Fawad Chaudhry arrested from outside SC
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry on Wednesday approved army deployment in Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakh-tunkhwa to address the deteriorating law and order situation in major cities across Pakistan.
Following Imran’s arrest, massive protests broke out across the country, with a number of demonstrators gathering outside military cantonments, General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, and offices of the Frontier Crops.
According to the ministry’s notifications pertaining to the capital city and the provinces of Punjab and KP which stated that the federal government was “pleased to authorise the deployment of army troops and assets for maintaining the law and order situation across Punjab in aid of civil power”.
They added that the government took the decision to exercise the powers conferred under Article 245 (functions of armed forces) of the Constitution and Section 4 (3) (ii) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (to discharge such functions as specified in the said act).
The Interior Ministry notifications highlighted that the exact number of troops, date, and area of deployment would be worked out by the provincial government in consultation with Military Operations Directorate, General Headquar-ters.
“The date of requisitioning the of the said deployment will be decided subsequently after mutual consultation among both the stakeholders,” it said.
Earlier, the KP government also sought from the interior ministry armed the deployment of armed forces in aid of civil power under Article 245 of the Constitution.
The letter stated that the request was made in view of the prevailing law and order circumstances apart from the safe-ty of the life and property of citizens and government installations. No request has been made by the Balochistan government for the army’s deployment yet.
Meanwhile, the legal woes of PTI Chairman Imran Khan multiplied on Wednesday when an accountability court sent him on an eight-day physical remand to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case. The former prime minister was presented before Judge Mohammad Bashir in the land corruption case at Islamabad Police Lines, which was given the status of a court as a “one-time dispensation” late on Tuesday night.
Judge Bashir, while announcing the verdict reserved earlier, directed officials to present Khan in court on May 17. Khan was arrested on Tuesday by Rangers — becoming the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan — on the orders of the NAB, an autonomous anti-graft agency, in relation to the corruption case. He was then moved to its office in the garrison town of Rawalpindi for questioning.
Later, announcing the reserved verdict on Khan’s arrest, IHC said that the arrest was legal; therefore, Khan’s legal team challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court; however, the plea was turned down by the apex court citing vari-ous reasons.
The cricketer-turned-politician faces a slew of court cases and was also indicted today in Toshakhana case — which involved allegations that he did not properly disclose earnings from the sale of state gifts from his time in office.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed fears that he might be killed in prison by slow poisoning. While ex-pressing his fear, the former prime minister apprised the accountability court that authorities “give an injection that causes a person to die slowly”.
During the course of proceedings, the PTI chairman sought medical treatment from his physician, Dr Faisal Sultan, add-ing that he wanted to avoid the treatment meted out to Maqsood chaprasi.
Ahead of Khan’s hearing, PTI Secretary General Asad Umar was also arrested from the IHC premises by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Islamabad police.
Umar was arrested from the IHC Bar Association’s office where they had been preparing a plea to file in the IHC to seek a meeting with the party chairman.
Later, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry was arrested from outside the Supreme Court premises late Wednesday night as the authorities tightened the noose around the opposition party after violent protests broke out following party chairman Imran Khan’s arrest.
Speaking to the media minutes before his arrest, Chaudhry said the powerful lawyers’ community had become weak as there was infighting within the fraternity.
“Never has a petitioner been arrested in such a manner,” he expressed, adding that Islamabad High Court had, a day earlier, approve his pre-arrest bail — which he had shown to the capital cops earlier in the day.
Lamenting that the party chief was arrested from court premises as well, Chaudhry said Khan’s arrest led to a division in the country. He also called for giving space to political opponents to pave the way for dialogue.
Imran Khan’s arrest from the IHC premises sparked violent clashes across the country during which hundreds of party workers were detained including former federal minister Ali Zaidi.
The party supporters in several cities took to the streets and clashed with security forces, who fired tear gas and tried to beat them back.
Videos circulated on social media — which was also down in several parts of the country — showed some supporters wielding sticks and face masks entering the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi and shouting angry slogans.
Not only across Pakistan, Khan’s supporters took to the street in several parts of the world.
DIG Operations Lahore Ali Nasir Rizvi in his efforts to clear the Corps Commandor House was hit by PTI stone pelters last night.
He has been seriously wounded — main facial bone and nasal bone has been fractured; eye punctured, retinal dam-age suspected. Reports suggest that the DIG might lose vision.
