President ‘shocked’ over manner of Imran’s arrest

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has written a formal letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which he has expressed his displeasure over the manner in which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court premises on Tuesday.

He said: “I and the people of Pakistan were shocked to see the video images of the incident which reflect manhandling of a former Prime Minister who is a popular leader and head of a political party substantially supported by the people of Pakistan.”

The president asked the prime minister to “please do ensure that constitutional rights of Mr. Imran Khan are not violated and his life is fully secured”.

Following is the letter which President Alvi wrote to Prime Minister Sharif with the subject ‘Arrest of Mr. Imran Khan and its aftermath’:

“Your attention is drawn towards the arrest of Mr. Imran Khan on 9th May, 2023 from the premises of Islamabad High Court, the manner in which it was done and the consequence thereof. I and the people of Pakistan were shocked to see the video images of the incident which reflect manhandling of a former Prime Minister who is a popular leader and head of a political party substantially supported by the people of Pakistan. The law enforcement agencies forcibly entered the office where Mr. Imran Khan was seated while his biometrics were under process, inside the building of Islamabad High Court.

“The clumsy hubris in which his arrest was carried out has tarnished the image of Pakistan in the international community, and the enemies of Pakistan are given an opportunity to mock and portray Pakistan as a country having little respect for rights of its citizens. This kind of incident should not happen with anybody, and the justification that such episodes have happened before does not make them ‘right’ today. The already tottering economy is badly affected and polarization in society is further exacerbated due to such ill-conceived and unwarranted incidents as above. Of course, he has a large number of followers who were emotionally charged after watching such scenes of his arrest and dragging of their leader by the security officials despite his injured leg due to an assassination attempt on him. The painful event led to attacks by mobs on public assets including buildings of the Armed Forces. I believe that the people have a right to protest but they should remain peaceful and within the bounds of the law.

“All are shocked because of the heart-wrenching, unfortunate and regrettable loss of lives which are highly condemnable. Besides the above, the rapidly polarizing body politic must be stabilized by reducing political temperature rather than the tit for tat, kneejerk reactions including the wave of arrests subsequently, that is continuously making the situation worst. I am distressed over the damages to public assets and unlawful actions of miscreants. As the upholder of the Constitution and Law, I condemn such incidents. My country is passing through a difficult phase, let’s take a deep breath and salvage our destiny.

“Please do ensure that constitutional rights of Mr. Imran Khan are not violated and his life is fully secured.

“The Prime Minister is obliged under the Constitution and Rules of Business, 1973 to keep me informed about the current state of affairs in the country.”