Daily Times

Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry was Saturday “arrested” from his residence in Islamabad and “taken to an unknown place”, a private TV channel reported.

The development was confirmed by his wife Hiba Fawad Chaudhary, who said her husband was arrested by police and men in plainclothes. “We have not been told why Fawad is being arrested,” Hiba said, speaking to a private TV channel.

Chaudhry’s wife also took to X, formerly Twitter, about her husband’s arrest. “Fawad Arrested and taken to an unknown place,” she wrote in her post. According to police sources, the politician was arrested under a first information report (FIR) registered at the Aabpara Police Station.

The case, the sources said, was registered on August 20, in which Fawad was booked for organising a PTI rally and blocking roads. Meanwhile, the politician’s brother and lawyer, Faisal Chaudhary, filed a petition before the magistrate requesting for the police to produce Fawad before the court. “Fawad Chaudhary should be released from illegal imprisonment,” the petition read, adding that the former minister is not wanted in any case.

It added that the court ordered the recovery and release of Fawad. The court conducted a hearing on the plea during which Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shahzad Gondal sought a report from the Islamabad police on the politician’s arrest.

It remains unclear why Fawad was arrested on Saturday, as he has been booked in several cases both before and after the May 9 riots which were triggered by the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan earlier this year in a graft case. In January, too, Fawad was arrested from his residence after he publicly “threatened” the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a media talk outside Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park. However, the then-coalition government said it had no hand in the politician’s arrest.