Anchorperson Imran Riaz was arrested early Wednesday morning at Lahore airport while departing for Saudi Arabia for Haj, according to his lawyer, Advocate Azhar Siddique.
“He was arrested by unidentified people who were accompanied by policemen,” Siddique told Dawn.com, adding that a scuffle occurred during the arrest. “Imran Riaz has been granted bail in all the cases registered against him,” Siddique further stated.
Following the arrest, Siddique filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking details of the first information report (FIR) under which Riaz was arrested. The petition, which is yet to be scheduled for a hearing, claims that Riaz was apprehended by “many civil-dressed officers from various authorities” without being provided any details and was “taken to an undisclosed location.”
The petition highlights the need for clarity regarding the FIR used to arrest Riaz, noting, “No information has surfaced as to which FIR was used in order to apprehend the Applicant on the eve of 11.06.2024.” It requests the court summon the relevant authorities to disclose the FIR details.
Riaz’s name was removed from the Exit Control List on June 11, according to the petition. The plea asks that the police, Federal Investigation Agency, Secretary Interior, and the Anti-Corruption Establishment be directed to provide details of the FIR under which Riaz was arrested.
Earlier this year, Riaz was arrested in a graft case related to the contract of Dhrabi Lake in Chakwal and was later granted bail. However, 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 against surety bonds worth Rs200,000. Riaz, a YouTuber and television anchor, was initially detained following violent protests across the country after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.
After his arrest, Riaz was taken to Cantt police station and later to Sialkot prison. On May 15, a law officer informed the LHC that Riaz had been released from jail after signing an undertaking, but his whereabouts remained unknown. Subsequently, a first information report (FIR) of Riaz’s alleged abduction was registered with Sialkot Civil Lines police on May 16 on the complaint of his father, Muhammad Riaz.
The FIR accused “unidentified persons” and police officials of kidnapping Riaz, invoking Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. His father also filed a plea in the LHC for his recovery.
During a May 19 hearing, Riaz’s father became emotional, pleading for his son’s recovery as his whereabouts remained unknown. The LHC chief justice ordered the police to recover and present Riaz by May 22.
Despite efforts, the journalist’s location remained unknown, with the LHC directing various agencies to collaborate in locating him. On May 26, the court ordered all agencies to work together to find Riaz and produce him by May 30. The Punjab IG later informed the LHC that phone numbers traced to Afghanistan were involved in the case.
After several hearings and extended deadlines, the LHC granted the Punjab police chief a “last opportunity” to recover Riaz by September 26. He was finally released on September 25, after being missing for more than four months.
