Pakistan detains UK lawyer ahead of elections

18/01/24

UK lawyer was detained in a secret location by unidentified agents on arrival in Pakistan for almost a week, then made to record a political statement under duress condemning his own political party, sources have told Tortoise.

Abdullah Kahloon, a 36 year-old criminal barrister and father of two, was seized moments after he cleared immigration at Islamabad International Airport on 9 January. Kahloon has been released but is being held under effective house arrest and is banned from leaving the country.

Kahloon had flown to Pakistan in a bid to take part in next month’s elections, standing for Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Khan is currently in prison and a number of PTI members have been detained or harrassed in recent months.

Khan’s arrest on 9 May last year sparked nationwide protests and Kahloon has been accused of involvement in the storming of Pakistan’s army headquarters in Lahore on the same day, even though video and photo evidence indicates he was 400km away at the time.

Kahloon comes from a well-known political family in Pakistan; his father is the district president of the Sargodha district in the Punjab region. He studied law at Cardiff University and has been working in London as an advocate and barrister since 2011.

While his two daughters have joint British-Pakistani citizenship, Kahloon only took up permanent residence in Britain. He had dreams of running for office one day and Pakistani law does not allow dual nationals to do so.

On 9 May 2023, it is understood that Kahloon was accompanying Khan and his legal counsel to court shortly before Khan’s dramatic arrest, as a PTI candidate who would soon run for election.

Kahloon returned home to London but was then accused by the Pakistani authorities of being involved in the violent protests in Lahore. Kahloon flew into Pakistan on 9 January to attend a hearing at the Islamabad High Court to clear his name, in order to run for office next month.

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https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2024/01/18/pakistan-detains-uk-lawyer-ahead-of-elections/

https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/arrest-abduction-or-escape-missing-pti-candidate-sends-pakistanis-on-a-hunt/1918138/

https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/imran-khan-fails-to-get-relief-from-pak-court-to-contest-feb-8-elections-124011000491_1.html

https://time.com/6556335/pakistan-election-imran-khan-nawaz-sharif-military-pti/

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/release-abdullah-kahloon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Tehreek-e-Insaf

Alhamdulliah, back now and secured pre-arrest bail today in a politically motivated case against me at the Sessions Court Sargodha. A special thanks to all of my family, friends and well-wishers in Pakistan and abroad for their prayers, kind thoughts and messages of support.

— Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon (@AMKahloon) January 16, 2024

Tagged: Pakistan, United Kingdom