Today’s News: Imran Riaz Sent to Jail in Corruption Case
The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab arrested popular TV host and YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan from his home late Thursday night in what they say is a case of corruption. After that, on Friday, a district judge sent him to jail.
Details say that a group of ACE officers broke into Mr. Riaz’s house late at night and arrested him. Images of the arrest that were shared on social media showed the anchorman being led from his home in handcuffs by a large group of police officers.
Read More News: Chinese Researchers Use Powerful AI to Communicate with Animals
In court, the ACE said that Mr. Riaz and his father had gotten a deal to expand Dharabi Lake in Chakwal district at a higher price than it was worth by using political connections. An FIR was filed against the anchorperson for cheating and abusing their power to get assets that are not related to their known sources of income.
The cop in charge of the investigation asked for 14 days of physical arrest so that they could question the person more. But the lawyers for the defense strongly disagreed with the accusations and the request to return. They said that the case against their client was made up and that no evidence of wrongdoing had been found on him.
Today’s News: What Imran Riaz Says About His Arrest?
Mr. Riaz spoke to the court and questioned the legality of the corruption claims. He also said that the contract in question was given to the lowest bidder and not at a higher price. He said the arrest was politically driven and meant to silence people who disagreed with the government.
In his comments, the news anchor strongly objected to including his aging father in the case, even though his father did not hold any public post. He was also angry about how he was arrested, saying that the raiding team had broken into his house and searched it for 15 minutes without showing any formal papers.
Once all sides had finished their cases, the judge in charge turned down the request for physical remand, saying that the prosecutors already had enough proof. Following this, Mr. Riaz was put in jail until his next court date in the first week of March.
What PTI Workers Say About Imran Riaz’s Recent Arrest?
The arrest has been strongly criticized on social media by Imran Khan’s PTI, which called it “illegal” and said it was done to “scare off the independent media.” Leaders of the party asked that the anchorperson be freed right away and that the “fake charges” against her be dropped.
Not long ago, Imran Riaz Khan got a lot of attention for publicly criticizing the current government and the establishment on social media after the PTI lost power in April. His arrest has led to an online discussion about how to stop people with different opinions from using the law to silence them. If he is found not guilty, it will also show how independent and fair Pakistan’s criminal justice system is.
The case is still in court, and everyone involved will be closely following its result. But the sketchy way the person was arrested during a tense political atmosphere has already made people more worried about how censorship and loss of freedom are spreading.
