ISLAMABAD: An aide to former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on Wednesday for criticising election officials, police said, the latest case brought against the opposition as it tries to force early polls.

Fawad Chaudhry, who was information minister under Khan, was detained in a pre-dawn raid on his home in Lahore.

Chaudhry is accused of having “harassed and intimidated” election commission officials and their families in televised comments on Tuesday, according to a police report shared by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The charges, lodged in Islamabad, also say he is being held under sedition legislation because he “tried to cause an impediment in the election process of the state”.

PTI government was ousted by a vote of no-confidence in April 2022 after his coalition partners switched allegiance.

Fresh elections are due no later than October, with Pakistan mired in political and economic uncertainty.—AFP