NAB Summons Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust Case Tomorrow, US Wants to See a Successful Pak, Says White House

Pakistan Crisis Updates: Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi chapter has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in connection with an investigation into the Al-Qadir Trust case on Thursday, reports said.

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict in Imran Khan’s plea against arrest in cases registered in connection with the May 9 protests.

Last week, the courts provided ‘blanket relief’ to the PTI chief following his arrest by NAB in the case with both the Supreme Court declaring his custody by the anti-corruption body “illegal”.

The PTI chief accused intelligence agencies of being responsible for shootings and arson during violent protests that followed his arrest last week.

Here are the latest Pakistan news updates:

• The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday extended the relief order against Imran Khan’s arrest till May 31. The development came during the hearing of PTI’s plea seeking details of all cases filed against Khan claiming that the PTI chief is booked in more than 100 cases, Geo TV reported.
• Describing Islamabad as an important partner in the region, the White House on Tuesday said it wants to see a successful Pakistan. “We want to see Pakistan be a success. And we want to see the Pakistan government live up to the strongest aspirations of the Pakistani people,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters at the White House.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to bring to justice the planners and leaders of the violent protests that targeted military installations and “disrespected martyrs” as he termed the incidents of May 9 as the “darkest chapter” in the country’s history.
• Earlier on Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan extended former prime minister Imran Khan’s pre-arrest bail in two terrorism cases till May 19. The ATC Lahore allowed Khan’s plea to appear before it through a video-link. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court extended Khan’s bail till June 8 in two cases pertaining to inciting violence and sedition.
• Former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry made a sprint of his life to evade re-arrest by dashing into the building of a high court, a video of which went viral on the internet. In the video, the PTI leader can be seen catching his breath after a brief run from police seeking to arrest him.
• Pakistan has no other option but to ask its all-weather ally China to bail out its ailing economy to avert full-fledged eruption of the Balance of Payment (BoP) crisis if the IMF does not revive the USD 6.5 billion programme. The policymakers are left with no other options but to explore all other ways to avert default as well as choking off the economy of over 220 million people, The News International quoted sources as saying.