Islamabad - Former outspoken PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, who is currently a member of the Istehkam- i-Pakistan Party (IPP), was arrested on Saturday, his wife said.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Hiba Fawad said, “Fawad [has been] arrested and taken to [an] unknown place.”
His brother, Faisal Chaudhry, also confirmed the arrest, alleging that the ex-federal minister was “kidnapped by a few uniformed officials accompanied by plainclothed men while he was having breakfast at his Islamabad residence”. “Even after my repeated insistence, they did not present any arrest warrant or order. I have serious apprehensions about his safety,” he added. Faisal later submitted a request for his brother’s recovery in the court of Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shahzad Gondal. It mentioned the federal government and the Kohsar station house officer as the respondents.
He said that Fawad was picked up by officials dressed in Islamabad police uniform and some civilian clothes at 12:30pm today. He said his brother was not wanted in any case, adding that Fawad was in “illegal custody” and his recovery was within the court’s jurisdiction. Faisal requested that the court issue orders for his brother’s recovery, otherwise there was a “possibility of irreparable loss” if Fawad was not freed from his illegal detention. The request was accepted with a hearing held today in which the judge ordered summoned a police report and adjourned proceedings.