Skipper on a sticky wicket

As the government and the army team up against Imran Khan, it is a battle for survival for him and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party

- MEHMAL SARFRAZ/LAHORE

On May 9, as former prime minister Imran Khan was undergoing the biometric registration process at the Islam abad high court, a contingent of Pakistan Rangers in riot control gear swooped down on him. The paramilitary commandos took him away, manhandling those around him. They were acting on the directions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, one of the several cases Imran is facing. A day later, an Islamabad court remanded him to NAB custody for eight days.

Imran, his wife Bushra Bibi, and other PTI leaders are facing an NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the ousted PTI government and property tycoon Malik Riaz, allegedly causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer. According to the NAB, Imran’s government adjusted the amount that was returned by Britain’s National Crime Agency to the Pakistan government as part of a settlement with Riaz. As prime minister, Imran got cabinet approval for the settlement, but kept it confidential. The money was submitted to the supreme court on behalf of Riaz. The Al-Qadir Trust was subsequently given land worth billions to establish a university.