Rana Sanaullah reminded everyone the federal government has no control over NAB, which ordered the arrest, and Rangers executed the order at the command of Islamabad Police.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Tuesday said the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan came in accordance with the law, and clarified that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is an independent institution outside the control of the federal government.
“Imran Khan is a cunning person by character”, said Rana, and asserted he had not talked to any NAB officer in this matter. He was addressing an express media conference in the immediate aftermath of the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman.
“There are dozens of cases against Imran Khan”, he said. “The arrest took place in the Al-Qadir Trust case. This money was supposed to be returned to the national treasury.
“The value of the property is [PKR] 7 billion, [of which] 2 billion rupees were taken separately by Shahzad Akbar, and the property worth 6 billion [rupees] was transferred to his name by injecting 60 billion [rupees] to the national treasury,” said the Interior Minister during a presser on Tuesday in Islamabad.
Rana Sanaullah told the presser the amount of sixty billion [repatriated by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA)] was the trust of Pakistan.
He was referring to the case concerning misappropriation of GBP 190 million repatriated by the UK after confiscation of shady properties and bank accounts held in that country by realty baron Malik Riaz and his family.
The British government contacted the Pakistani government and demanded return of this amount. He said that 240 kanals of land were also registered in the name of Al-Qadir Trust in Bani Gala.
Imran Khan and his wife are its trustees. The value of this property is estimated at around PKR 7 billion rupees. The Interoir Minister shared the details of the property with the media, and challenged Niazi to answer regarding the Al-Qadir Trust.
Rana said Shahzad Akbar is enjoying himself in Dubai and London today [after receiving a cut of] PKR 2 billion separately. “It is a pity that the Supreme Court did not take notice of it”, he said.
The Interior Minister said that instead of bringing the money to the national treasury, the money was adjusted in the Supreme Court’s account and the Supreme Court did not take cognizance of the money transaction.
He further said that Farah Shahzadi alias Gogi, who had unrestricted access to the Prime Minister’s House under Niazi, siphoned PKR 12 billion abroad through banking channels.
“Imran Khan should be kept in a rehab center in Islamabad where he is treated and investigated”, he said, and added that Rangers are a force of the Ministry of Interior and are permanently deployed in Islamabad.
On the request of Islamabad police and administration, it has been deployed permanently under the command of Islamabad police for Red Zone and High Court.
The Interior Minister said NAB asked Islamabad Police for help to arrest Imran Khan, the Islamabad Police decided to call in Rangers to obviate a violent situation from developing.
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