A day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s dramatic nabbing from the Islamabad High Court’s diary branch, the party’s Secretary General Asad Umar was arrested by the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) from the premises of the same court .

The Islamabad police’s ATS officials picked up Umar from outside the IHC Bar Room where he and other PTI leaders were preparing a plea to be filed file in the IHC seeking a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

According to eyewitnesses, the PTI lawyers fought with the police to prevent Umar’s arrest, but the law enforcers overpowered them and took the PTI leader away.

The former finance minister was booked in two cases registered against him and other PTI leaders following the protests that ensued after Imran Khan’s arrest. The cases were registered in Islamabad’s Tarnol and Aabpara police stations.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, and Ghulam Sarwar Khan were also with Umar when the CTD men swooped on him.

All three leaders returned to the IHC’s Bar Room after Umar was taken by the police.

The police also tried arresting Qureshi, however, the lawyers and other party workers thwarted the police from snatching the PTI vice chairman.

Umar’s arrest prompted PTI leader Shireen Mazari to take to Twitter, where she registered her protest against his fellow’s arrest.

“IHC premises ‘fertile ground’ for PTI leaders’ arrest,” Shireen Mazari tweeted.

She condemned Umar’s arrest, saying “seems like the IHC area has become a fertile ground to illegally arrest PTI leaders”.

“Fascism confirmed. They can’t get the terrorists but PTI leaders are now terrorists for cabal of crooks and the State? This is despicable,” Mazari wrote on Twitter.

Umar’s arrest comes a day after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested by Rangers personnel in connection with an investigation into the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The PTI chief was taken into custody from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC), where he had gone to seek bail in multiple cases registered against him ranging from terrorism to money laundering.

Following Khan’s arrest, PTI workers came out in different cities and clashed with the police.