Pakistan's former interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid was arrested on Thursday morning. According to reports, he was considered a close aide of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Rashid's arrest comes after a case was filed against him for alleging that former President Asif Ali Zardari was planning an assassination attempt on the PTI chief.
According to reports, the police are likely to bring Rashid before a judge to get permission to question him for any evidence supporting his allegation against Zardari. Notably, Rashid is a staunch critic of the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Rashid was accused of inciting people to violence
The police further said that the former minister's arrest came after a complaint from Inayat-ur Rehman, a senior politician from Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party. Rehman told police that Rashid was inciting people to violence by levelling a serious allegation against Zardari.
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Meanwhile, the arrest is likely to deepen political turmoil at a time when the government is facing one of its worst economic crises and is in talks to convince the International Monetary Fund to revive a $6 billion bailout.
It should be mentioned here that Rashid's arrest comes days after police in Lahore detained a senior leader from Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, Fawad Chaudhry, on charges of threatening the chief of the elections board and other officials.
(With inputs from AP)
