Plan to arrest Imran Khan was changed at eleventh hour, report claims

Imran Khan Arrest: Following Imran Khan's arrest, protests erupted in Pakistan.

The plan to arrest former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was changed in the last minute, Dawn reported claiming that “Rangers arrested former prime minister Imran Khan from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) even though the task had earlier been given to the capital police.”

Imran Khan was arrested on Tuesday and was denied bail by the high court.

Following Imran Khan's arrest, protests erupted in Pakistan. The report quoted officials as saying that “earlier the quarters concerned had tasked the police with arresting Imran during his appearance in the high court in connection with separate cases.”

Then a plan was made according to which Imran Khan was to be arrested at the main entrance. “However, the police were later told to take him into custody from inside the court building,” the officers told Dawn.

“The senior command agreed with the directions, but the supervisory officers, who were assigned the task of the arrest, opposed saying the police would pay the cost if the arrest was made from inside the premises,” the report claimed.

The report also described the way in which Imran Khan was arrested claiming that, “ personnel entered the room and arrested Mr Khan, took him towards an SUV and bundled him inside. A number of personnel also embarked on the vehicle and some stood on the footers along the doors.”

Officers told Dawn that some leaders of Imran Khan's party “managed to leave the court premises to avoid arrest, but a few, including Fawad Chaudhry, remained there and went inside a courtroom to avoid arrest.”