Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan likely to be arrested in foreign funding case

The chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the former Prime Minister of the nation, Imran Khan is likely to be arrested in connection with a case involving foreign funding, according to sources cited by ARY on Friday. This report came shortly after fellow PTI officials Tariq Shafi, Hamid Zaman, as well as Saif Niazi were arrested on the same day. According to ARY, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah instructed the appropriate authorities to file a complaint against Imran Khan. 

Furthermore, the federal government has developed a plan under which the police have been ordered to place ex-PM Imran Khan under house arrest at his Banigala house after the announcement of the much-anticipated long march, according to an earlier report in the Dawn, which cited sources. 

Besides this, PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Twitter, “After Shehbaz Sharif’s press conference yesterday and the subsequent arrests of Tariq Shafi, Hamid Zaman and Saif Niazi, it is clear that the government is panicking and is scared after the announcement of ‘Azadi March’,” ANI reported. 

Meanwhile, another PTI leader Saifullah Niazi was detained on Friday by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Cybercrime division on suspicion of operating an "unauthorized" website that was being used for illegitimate fundraising, according to ARY news.  

Rana Sanaullah, speaking at a news conference in Islamabad on Friday, explained the circumstances behind the imprisonment and mentioned that the PTI officials were not appearing before the FIA in the issue involving the party's illegal fundraising. 

Imran Khan urges PTI members to prepare for the 'Haqeeqi Azadi March'

Moreover, Imran Khan instructed his party members to prepare for the "Haqeeqi Azadi March" in Islamabad. The former prime minister asked his party's officials and members to swear an oath earlier this week that they would participate in the long march because they saw it as a Jehad for the country. On Monday, Imran Khan urged his followers to be prepared for the upcoming second large-scale protest, which would call for the dissolution of the National Assembly and the holding of fresh elections in the country. 

The former prime minister asserted that holding new general elections in Pakistan is the best option to help the country get out of its current predicament. 

Additionally, Shehbaz Sharif's administration has decided to mobilize the army and station troops in the capital of Pakistan in an attempt to put an end to Imran Khan's long march. Government sources reported by Dawn stated that the Pakistan Army would be posted in the capital city's Red Zone to bar protesters from entering. Further, Rana Sanaullah said that the cabinet had decided that PTI would never be allowed to enter Islamabad. 

(Image: PTI)