ISLAMABAD: Top leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former premier Imran Khan were arrested on Monday from the party’s Islamabad office, according to police, party officials and visuals widely shared on social media.
PTI social media accounts shared videos of dozens of policemen surrounding the party’s Islamabad secretariat on Monday morning, while visuals of the party’s information secretary, Raoof Hasan, being led away by police widely circulated online.
Islamabad police spokesperson Taqi Jawad and Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, Khan’s key adviser on media, confirmed to Arab News that Hasan and PTI Chairman Gohar Khan, who is also Khan’s lawyer, had both been arrested but that Gohar was later released.
“Barrister Gohar himself announced that he was not arrested by police and he is free, while Raoof Hasan was taken by security forces in a joint operation by the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) and Islamabad police,” Jawad told Arab News. “I am taking details of the charges against him and will share with the media.”
Hasan’s arrest comes after those of several other PTI members in the last few days, including the party’s top media manager Ahmed Waqqas Janjua.
Bukhari said an anti-terrorism court remanded Janjua today, Monday, into police custody for seven days. According to the PTI and Janjua’s lawyer, the investigating officer said explosives were recovered during Janjua’s arrest and links with outlawed organizations would be probed.
“We demanded that at least family should be given right to visit him (Janjua) and the judge said that he will write it in the order,” Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, Janjua’s lawyer, told Arab News. “Now we will pursue the case further against the remand order.”
The federal government of PM Shehbaz Sharif last week announced plans to ban the PTI and moved the country’s top court to press treason charges against Khan.
Khan came to power in 2018 and was ousted in 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which had helped propel him into office. The army denies political interference.
Since his ouster, the PTI founder and his party have faced an ever-widening state-backed crackdown and Khan himself has been in jail since August last year. He was acquitted earlier this month in one of the last standing convictions against him but was not freed after authorities issued new orders to arrest him in another case involving riots by his followers in May last year.
Khan, arguably the country’s most popular politician, says all legal cases are motivated to keep him out of politics and dent the popularity of the PTI.
The convictions against him had ruled him out of Feb. 8 general elections, which all candidates from his party were forced to contest as independents after the election commission denied the party its iconic symbol of a cricket bat on technical grounds.
Despite the setbacks, Khan-backed candidates won the most seats in the polls but could not form the government, which is now being led by Sharif’s PMLN party in coalition with other parties.
Noose tightens around Imran Khan’s party as information secretary arrested in Islamabad
https://arab.news/gc6ze
Noose tightens around Imran Khan’s party as information secretary arrested in Islamabad
- The development comes days after the arrest of several other PTI members, including the party’s top media manager
- Pakistan last week announced plans to ban ex-PM Khan’s PTI party, moved top court to press treason charges against him
Pakistan urges concessional finance for developing nations to boost clean energy security
- Pakistan has emerged as one of world’s fastest growing solar markets, with 12GWs of off-grid and 6GWs of net-metered capacity in 2025
- PM’s aide says Islamabad remains committed to Paris Agreement, looks for continued support in building a resilient and low-carbon future
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged international partners to scale up concessional financing for developing countries, the country’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Sunday, citing an aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The call was made by Sharif’s coordinator on climate change, Romina Khurshid Alam, while delivering Pakistan’s national statement at the 16th International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly in Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing solar markets, with 12 gigawatts (GWs) of off-grid and over 6GWs of net-metered solar capacity by the end of 2025. Last fiscal year, renewables accounted for a historic 53 percent of total electricity generation, according to Alam.
The prime minister’s aide stressed that affordable funding for developing nations is critical to accelerating their transition to clean energy and strengthening energy security amid rising climate and economic challenges.
“Alam reaffirmed Pakistan’s target of achieving 60 percent renewables in the power mix by 2030,” the PID said in a statement.
“In her call to action, she urged IRENA and Member States to increase concessional finance for developing nations, treat technologies such as energy storage and green hydrogen as global public goods, and strengthen regional cooperation for shared energy security.”
IRENA is a global intergovernmental agency for energy transformation that serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, supports countries in their energy transition, and provides state of the art data and analyzes on technology, innovation, policy, finance and investment. Its membership comprises 170 countries and the European Union (EU).
The 16th session of the IRENA Assembly is taking place on Jan. 10-12 in Abu Dhabi and focuses on the theme of “Powering Humanity: Renewable Energy for Shared Prosperity.” The session has gathered global leaders and energy decision-makers to discuss strategies and underline necessary actions for the acceleration of renewable energy across countries, regions, and the world, driving economic inclusion, equity, and human well-being.
Alam shared that Pakistan is taking action against energy poverty through initiatives like the Punjab Solar Panel Scheme 2026, which provides free or subsidized systems to low-income households.
She highlighted how distributed solar kits have restored power and livelihoods in flood-affected communities and offer a replicable model for climate-resilient recovery.
“Pakistan remains fully committed to the Paris Agreement and looks to IRENA for continued technical and financial support in building a resilient, inclusive, and low-carbon future,” Alam said.
Adopted in 2015 to combat climate change, the Paris Agreement binds nations to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
