Former special assistant to Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shahbaz Gill, has been reportedly forced from his car and detained by police on a busy road in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Insaf stated on Tuesday.
"This is an abduction, not an arrest. Can such shameful acts take place in any democracy? Political workers are treated as enemies. And all to make us accept a foreign-backed government of crooks," his former employer Khan said.
The ex-prime minister also shared a video statement from Gill's driver, who said that the PTI politician was allegedly tortured and dragged out of his car.
Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari claimed that the PTI politician's detention forms part of the "grand design of US regime change conspiracy and its abettors."
According to the Islamabad Police, Gill had been taken into custody for "making statements to the public against the state institutions and inciting the people to rebellion." The PTI has refuted this claim.
The PTI has escalated its campaign against the federal government since it ousted the ruling party from power in the country's most populous Punjab province in July.
Khan has slammed the Sharif government as "imported" and accused the US of imposing it on Pakistani citizens. Khan, who lost power in April, accuses the Washington administration of conspiring against his government as his party pursued an independent foreign policy underpinned by the country's national interests.
For his part, Sharif called Khan a "certified liar" after the election commission ruled against the PTI in a foreign funding case. The ruling government has also approached the election commission, demanding Khan’s disqualification over the Toshakhana gift case. Sharif claims that Khan sold official gifts given to him during his tenure for personal profit, including diamond jewellery sets, bracelets, and wrist watches.