Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested during a court appearance in Islamabad over corruption allegations, after months of a political crisis.
Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, a leader of Khan\u2019s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, confirmed Khan\u2019s arrest on Tuesday to Al Jazeera.
\u201cHe went for his biometrics procedure from where he was picked by the Rangers,\u201d she said, referring to the paramilitary force.
Akbar Nasir Khan, a top police official in Islamabad, told Al Jazeera that Khan was arrested in a case related to Al-Qadir Trust. The anti-corruption National Accountability Bureau had issued an arrest warrant against Khan on May 1 in relation to the case, he said.
Since his removal from power last year, Khan has been slapped with dozens of charges, all of which he denies and says are politically motivated.
Imran Khan\u2019s lawyer accused the Rangers of hitting Khan on his head and kicking him before taking him away.
\u201cRangers forcibly entered and broke the door and window [of the room]. They picked up Imran Khan from his wheelchair, hit him on his head and kicked him,\u201d Gohar Ali Khan, who was accompanying the former prime minister at the Islamabad High Court, said in a video posted on the PTI\u2019s social media account.
\u201cI fell during the commotion. Rangers pepper sprayed him and took him away,\u201d the lawyer added.
Ali Khan said no police officials were present inside the room where Khan was arrested from.
Fawad Chaudhry, a PTI leader, tweeted that the Islamabad High Court complex was \u201coccupied\u201d by the Rangers and lawyers were \u201cbeing subjected to torture\u201d.
Video footage on local media showed Khan being escorted to a Rangers vehicle and taken to an unknown location.
PTI officials called on supporters to take to the streets following Khan\u2019s arrest, which they termed an abduction.
\u201cPakistan\u2019s brave people must come out and defend their country,\u201d the party posted on Twitter.
Police in Islamabad, however, warned that an order banning gatherings of more than four people would be strictly enforced.
Reports said Aamer Farooq, the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, has ordered government officials to appear before the court over Khan\u2019s arrest.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was removed from power in April 2022 after he lost a confidence vote in parliament. Since then, he has been campaigning for early national polls, due in October this year.
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