Lahore – Early Wednesday morning, prominent anchorperson and YouTuber Imran Riaz was arrested at Lahore airport while departing for Saudi Arabia to perform Haj, according to his lawyer, Advocate Azhar Siddique. The arrest, carried out by unidentified individuals accompanied by policemen, led to a scuffle at the airport, Siddique reported.
Despite being granted bail in all the cases against him, Riaz was taken into custody without being informed of the specific charges. Siddique has since filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking details of the first information report (FIR) under which Riaz was detained. The petition is yet to be scheduled for a hearing.
The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, claims that Riaz was apprehended by plainclothes officers from various authorities who provided no information and took him to an undisclosed location. “No information has surfaced as to which FIR was used in order to apprehend the Applicant on the eve of 11.06.2024,” the petition stated, emphasizing the urgent need for the court to summon the respondents to disclose the details of the FIRs registered against Riaz.
Riaz’s name had been removed from the Exit Control List on June 11, just a day before his arrest. Siddique’s plea calls for the police, Federal Investigation Agency, Secretary Interior, and the Anti-Corruption Establishment to present the FIR details under which Riaz was arrested.
In a separate petition, Riaz’s brother demanded his immediate release from what he described as “illegal and improper custody.” This plea named several officials, including the Punjab inspector general and Lahore capital city police officer, as respondents. The petition asserted that Riaz was unlawfully detained and prevented from traveling abroad.
Earlier this year, Riaz was embroiled in legal troubles when he was arrested in a graft case related to the Dhrabi Lake contract in Chakwal but was later granted bail. He was rearrested in another case concerning violence outside PTI founder Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence. On March 10, an anti-terrorism court granted him post-arrest bail with surety bonds worth Rs200,000.
Riaz’s legal woes date back to 2023, when he was arrested following the violent protests that erupted across Pakistan after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9. Following his arrest, he was last seen at Cantt police station and later transferred to Sialkot prison. Despite being released on May 15, his whereabouts remained unknown, leading to an FIR being filed for his alleged abduction.
Efforts to locate Riaz involved multiple court hearings and appeals from his family, culminating in a directive from the LHC for various agencies to work together to find and present him in court. He was eventually released on September 25, after more than four months of being missing.
The recent arrest at Lahore airport adds to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Riaz’s legal battles, with his lawyer and family continuing to seek clarity and justice regarding the charges and circumstances of his detention.