ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the Ministry of Interior has approved the issuance of a red warrant for prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister for overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari.
The decisionsignifies a new chapter in the ongoing legal proceedings against the PTI leader who has been residing abroad.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to forward a formal request to the Interpol Secretariat in France, seeking the issuance of a red warrant for Zulfi Bukhari.
This move is part of a concerted effort to arrest and extradite him to Pakistan for his alleged involvement in a case registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Golra police station on March 18.
The case against Zulfi Bukhari stems from his participation in the PTI’s “Jail Bharo Tehreek,” which commenced on February 22. He was the first to court arrest as part of the party’s protest, but he subsequently left the country.
As many as 47 PTI workers and leaders who had surrendered to the police during the campaign were taken to Adiala jail and later transferred to Shahpur jail in Sargodha.
Rana Sanaullah, the former interior minister and a prominent figure in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had alleged that Zulfi Bukhari and two other PTI leaders departed the country as part of a conspiracy. In response, Bukhari vehemently denied these claims and criticised Sanaullah’s allegations.
Bukhari stated, “I’m putting up my departure details and the airport. I left for business and was scheduled to return on 6th May. It doesn’t take this much effort and airtime to figure it out,” in response to Sanaullah’s comments made during a TV show.
He found it amusing that the former minister was attempting to portray his departure as a major conspiracy.
