Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested during a court appearance in capital Islamabad over corruption allegations.
Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, a leader of Khanโs Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), confirmed Khanโs arrest to Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
โHe went for his biometrics procedure from where he was picked by the Rangers,โ she said, referring to the paramilitary force.
Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, a top police official in Islamabad, told Al Jazeera Khan was arrested in a case related to one Al-Qadir Trust.
The National Accountability (NAB) had issued arrest warrant for Khan on May 1 in relation to the case.
Fawad Chaudhry of Khanโs PTI party tweeted that the Islamabad High Court complex has been โoccupiedโ by the Pakistani Rangers paramilitary and that lawyers were โbeing subjected to tortureโ.
Video footage on local media showed Khan being escorted to a Rangers vehicle.
In a tweet, PTI said the Rangers have โabductedโ Khan.
โPakistanโs brave people must come out and defend their country,โ the party posted.
Reports said Aamer Farooq, the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, has ordered government officials to appear before the court over Khanโs arrest.
Khan was removed from power in April last year after he lost a confidence vote in parliament. Since then, he has been campaigning for early national polls, due in October this year. (AlJazeera)