Two senior leaders from Imran Khan's party arrested
Islamabad (PTI): Two senior leaders of Imran Khan's party were arrested on Friday as the Pakistan government launched a crackdown on the opposition party amidst the worsening political turmoil in the country following the former prime minister's arrest in a corruption case.
Shireen Mazari, a former federal minister for Human Rights, was arrested from her house.
Imaan Hazir-Mazari, the daughter of Mazari and a lawyer, shared a video on Twitter that appeared to show plainclothes men forcefully entering her home to arrest the former minister.
Later, another video emerged on Twitter showing female officers taking the former minister away from her residence. As she was escorted to a police vehicle, Mazari raised a victory sign, saying "victory for democracy", while condemning "state terrorism" as unacceptable.
Shortly before posting the video, Mazari's daughter had tweeted that approximately 50 cops carrying firearms had entered her residence.
"Our SVP Dr Shireen Mazari is being abducted at this precise moment. Police have also entered with guns her home, reaching a new low. Extremely shameful!" the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wrote on Twitter.
Her arrest comes after a series of arrests of several other PTI leaders, including Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
All of these leaders other than Khan were arrested under section three of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
According to a PTI statement, former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has also been arrested.
PTI leader Andaleeb Abbas said that the former minister was hiding to avoid arrest.
"Police had taken her close family members into custody two days ago but her husband was released after his health deteriorated. Her brother-in-law is still in police custody.
There are several cases filed against Yasmin, including that of an attack on the Lahore Corps Commander's residence.
Khan, 70, was arrested on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and an accountability court Wednesday handed him over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for eight days remand in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
His arrest sparked widespread protests across Pakistan, prompting the government to deploy the army in the national capital as well as in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The violent protests left at least eight people dead.
On Thursday, a three-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, ordered Khan's immediate release. Khan is facing over 120 cases across the country, including for allegedly committing treason and blasphemy and inciting violence and terrorism.
The bench, while hearing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman's plea against his arrest, expressed anger at the way he was taken into custody by paramilitary Rangers and ordered the NAB to produce him before it.
Khan, who was ousted from power in April last year, was brought to the court amid heavy security.
The court also directed him to approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday and seek further legal recourse. "You will have to accept whatever the high court decides," the top judge said.
Bandial also said that it is every politician's responsibility to ensure law and order.
Khan is set to appear before the IHC on Friday for pre-arrest bail amid tight security as his party announced a rally on the occasion and asked followers to gather nearby the court for the leader's address.
The IHC upheld his arrest but the Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated his incarceration declaring no one could be arrested from inside the court and ordered his release as it directed police to keep him in the Supreme Court's protection and produce him before the high court at 11 am.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
