ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry was arrested from his residence in Islamabad on Saturday.

Police sources said a team, including officials from the capital police, raided the residence of Mr Chaudhry and took him to an undisclosed location.

The sources said the former PTI leader was arrested in connection with a case registered at the Aabpara police station on August 22, 2022 under section 188, 186, 506, 341 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Whether Mr Chaudhry has joined the Jahangir Khan Tarin-led Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party is still unclear.

Besides Mr Chaudhry, AML chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, PTI leaders Murad Saeed, Faisal Javaid Khan, Asad Umer, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Ali Nawaz Khan, Faisal Vawda, Shahzad Wasim, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Shibli Faraz, Saifullah Khan Niazi, Shehryar Afridi, Fiazul Hassan Chohan, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Asad Qaiser, Zahir Abbas Khokhar, Ghulam Sarwar Khan and over 1,000 unidentified people were booked in the FIR.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Chaudhry’s wife Hiba Fawad said, “Fawad arrested and taken to unknown place.”

Magistrate sends PTI leader Asad Qaiser on judicial remand in corruption case

In her other posts, she later said Fawad was taken away by Islamabad police, but he was not available at any police station in the capital.

His brother Faisal Chaudhry also posted on X stating that Fawad was “abducted from his house in Islamabad by officials in plainclothes when he was taking breakfast.” He said despite his repeated request, they did not show any arrest warrant or order.

Mr Faisal said he went to the Aabpara and Kohsar police stations, but Fawad was not there. The Islamabad police are also not telling anything about him, he added.

Asad Qaiser sent to judicial lock-up

A magistrate in Islamabad on Saturday remanded former speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser to judicial lock-up in a corruption case registered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PTI leader was arrested during a raid on his residence jointly carried out by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Islamabad police on Friday.

Senior civil judge Qudratullah sent Mr Qaiser to jail with a direction to the ACE to complete the legal formalities within a week to formally take him in custody.

During the course of hearing, station house officer Banigala Ishfaq Warriach informed the judge that Mr Qaiser was arrested in a corruption case and requested to send him to judicial lock-up to enable the ACE’s interrogation.

PTI’s lawyers Shuaib Shaeen and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan raised certain objections on the arrest.

Advocate Shaheen questioned the legality of the arrest by the capital police in a case registered in KP.

He termed the arrest a political victimisation, adding the arrest had been made a day after the date for the next general elections was announced.

Talking to mediapersons outside the sessions court, Mr Shaheen said Qaiser had been remanded to judicial lock-up for a week in a three-year-old case.

He said the complaint was lodged against Mr Qaiser with the ACE in 2020 and the first information report was registered in 2023.

FIR against ex-NA speaker

The ACE registered the case against Mr Qaiser and four officials of the health department on November 2, accusing them of committing irregularities in the purchase of equipment for Gajju Khan Medical College, causing a loss of Rs16.4 million to the exchequer.

The FIR was registered at the ACE police station Swabi under sections 409, 162 and 167 of Pakistan Penal Code and 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The FIR alleged that the central processing unit (CPU) of the electromyography machine was missing. Moreover, defective furniture was purchased for the hospital.

Talking to Dawn, Asad Qaiser’s brother Abdul Waheed alleged that ex-defence minister Pervez Khattak and former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan, who have formed PTI Parliamentarians, were behind the arrest of his brother.

(Muqaddam Khan from Swabi contributed to this story)

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023