Held over Al-Qadir Trust case relating to purchase, transfer of land for a university in Punjab province More than 100 cases registered against Khan following his ousting from power in April 2022 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested in Islamabad by the paramilitary Rangers force in a move that threatens fresh turmoil in the South Asian nation as it faces its most daunting economic crisis to date. Khan had arrived in the capital city from Lahore and was inside the premises of the Islamabad High Court for two hearings on Tuesday when he was arrested in a case involving the Al-Qadir Trust, relating to the purchase and transfer of land for a university in Punjab province. The arrest, by Rangers officials who reportedly carried arrest warrants, took place a little after 2 p.m. on Tuesday when Khan entered the building of the IHC. Khan was then taken away in a vehicle. “I’m mentally ready to be arrested,” Khan had said in a video message to supporters before he left Lahore for Islamabad. “Imran Khan has been whisked away by unknown people to an unknown location,” said Fawad Chaudhry, senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party. Police in Islamabad have banned public gatherings in support of Khan. Previous attempts to arrest Khan from his Lahore residence resulted in clashes this year between his supporters and law enforcement personnel. Local media have reported that Khan’s supporters have gathered in various cities in the country, from Gilgit in the north to Karachi in the south. Khan has led massive rallies and protest marches in Pakistan in the past. More than 100 cases have been registered against Khan in various courts in the country, with charges ranging from corruption to terrorism and sedition, following the politician’s ousting from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote last April. Khan says the cases are politically motivated to crack down on his Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, arguably the most popular in the country. Many senior Khan aides have had cases registered against them in recent months and been arrested. The fresh political crisis comes as Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund are in talks aimed at resuming stalled funding of $1.1 billion due in November from a $6.5 billion program agreed in 2019. The measures have fueled the country’s highest-ever inflation, some 36.4 percent in April. The IMF funding is crucial for Pakistan to avert default on its external payment obligations during a balance of payment crisis in which foreign exchange reserves have shrunk to just four weeks of controlled imports. Khan’s arrest also comes in the wake of the army’s warning about legal action over accusations by Khan that a serving military official, Maj. Gen. Faisal Naseer, was plotting to kill him.