Pakistan has issued a presidential ordinance granting extra detention powers to the country’s anti-graft body, which is currently investigating a case involving former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Khan, the country’s main opposition leader who has faced a string of cases since being ousted from power last year, was arrested in the graft case in May, which led to violent protests across the country.
He was later released on bail.
The legal tweaks involved granting the anti-graft body, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the ability to issue arrest warrants and detain suspects for 30 days if they did not cooperate with an investigation.
Pakistan’s information minister did not immediately respondfor comment.
The move came hours before Khan and his wife were set to appear before the NAB in Islamabad and at hearings in other cases. T
he former premier left his home in the city of Lahore for Islamabad early on Tuesday.
The government can pass laws swiftly through a presidential ordinance when parliament is not in session, but the assembly has to endorse the law within 90 days.
Pakistan grants extra powers to graft body probing Imran Khan
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