Pakistan: Imran Khan's Close Aide Fawad Chaudhry Compares Himself To Nelson Mandela After Arrest For 'Sedition'

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party senior leader Fawad Chaudhry for 'inciting violence against a constitutional institution', widely attributed in the Pakistani media as 'charges of sedition'.

Fawad, a close aide of ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, was taken into custody from his residence in Lahore after a case was registered against him at Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of the Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for “threatening” the electoral body’s members and their families, reports Dawn.

Later in the night, an Islamabad court handed over the PTI leader to police in a two-day physical remand -- after he was arrested for “inciting violence against a constitutional institution”.

The investigating officer of the case had sought an eight-day physical remand but the court rejected his request, Express Tribune reported.

During the court hearing, Fawad said that he was proud of the charges against him and reportedly went on to compare himself with South African leader Nelson Mandela.

“These allegations were also levelled at Nelson Mandela," he was quoted as saying.

“It is being said that I have committed sedition […] I am a former Supreme Court lawyer and federal minister […] I should be treated with respect,” he told the court.