A petition was filed before the high court shortly after Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence on Saturday.

The petition listed the Punjab inspector general of police, the Lahore city police chief and others as respondents and said that Khan was unlawfully taken away from his residence.

It said Khan was ‘abducted’ effectively because the police party that arrested him did not have any court orders.

Khan was arrested within half an hour after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison having found him guilty of corrupted practice in the Toshakhana criminal case.

The petition urged the court to declare Khan’s arrest illegal and order his release.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar has issued a statement against the Islamabad sessions court judgement, saying it was against the concept of a fair trial.

The statement said the decision was given in haste and it failed to take into account an Islamabad High Court judgment.