Anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan arrested

• Police say FIR has been registered against Imran Riaz Khan in Attock and he is being taken there.
• Following his arrest, PTI leaders raised their voices in support of the journalist.
• Reports say 17 treason cases have been registered against Imran Riaz Khan across Punjab.

LAHORE: Attock police Tuesday arrested journalist and anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan in Attock, according to Geo News.

Police told the media outlet that a first information report (FIR) has been lodged against Imran in Attock.

Dawn.com, quoting the journalist's counsel, reported that 17 treason cases have been registered against Imran across Punjab, while he was also filing a contempt of court case against the police.

According to the police, the journalist is being shifted to the police station. 

Punjab Law Minister Malik Ahmad Khan said that Imran has been arrested within the jurisdiction of Punjab, and the impression that he has been arrested from Islamabad is wrong.

Following the arrest, PTI leaders — including Chairman Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Shahbaz Gill, and others — raised voices in support of the journalist and condemned the act.

"I strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest of Imran Riaz Khan by Punjab police tonight," the PTI chairman wrote on Twitter.

"The country is descending into fascism just to make our nation accept an 'imported government comprising of mega crooks. It is time for everyone, especially the media, to unite [and] stand up against this fascism," he added.

In his tweet, PTI leader and ex-special assistant to the prime minister Gill said that Imran has been arrested for "standing with the truth".

Condemning the arrest, former planning minister and PTI Secretary General Asad Umar said “expression of opinions are met with counterarguments and not through arrests.”

Meanwhile, senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the “fascist government in the country is using third-grade tactics to stifle critical voices against it.”

Sharing a video of the anchorperson after being arrested, PTI’s central secretary of information Farrukh Habib said “difference of opinion cannot be suppressed by force.”