Islamabad: In a case where he and his wife are accused of accepting land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through a charitable trust, the former prime minister Imran Khan was on Wednesday turned over by an accountability court to the national anti-graft watchdog on an eight-day physical remand for investigation.

At Islamabad Police Lines, which was given the status of a court late on Tuesday night, Khan was brought before Judge Mohammed Bashir in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Bashir instructed authorities to place Khan in the National Accountability Bureau's custody for an eight-day period and to appear in court on May 17 to present him.

Also Read: Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrested after Imran, army called in Islamabad

After the verdict, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, the former prime minister's attorney, said to Arab News: "Khan has given me a message for the Pakistani public and he asked me to tell you in the same words. We informed him that the public has taken to the streets to protest his arrest.

"He (Khan) said: 'Tell the nation that you have to stand strongly for the rule of law if martial law is imposed by (army chief) Asim Munir.'"

Khan and his third wife are the owners of the Al-Qadir Trust, which manages a university outside of Islamabad that focuses on spirituality and Islamic teachings. Bushra Bibi, Khan's wife and a well-known spiritual healer, served as the project's inspiration.

Also Read: The 718 Spyder RS for the international markets has been unveiled by Porsche for 2024

At a press conference on Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that the trust had been set up so that Khan could receive valuable land as a bribe from one of Pakistan's wealthiest and most influential businessmen. According to the minister, the trust owns a sizable plot of land in Islamabad close to Khan's hilltop home that is worth approximately 60 acres and 7 billion Pakistani rupees ($24.7 million).

The university's official campus is a 60-acre parcel, but not much has been constructed there.  Aides Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Tuesday that the allegations of land bribery were false.

The former prime minister was charged in a separate case involving the sale of state gifts, known as the Toshakhana reference, just hours after Khan was remanded in police custody in the Al-Qadir Trust case, according to his lawyer.

"We have boycotted the court proceedings, and Khan has also not signed the documents," he told the media.

Indignant supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, arguably the most well-liked in the nation, staged demonstrations across the nation after his arrest on Tuesday while he was on the grounds of the Islamabad High Court.

Also Read: 'I can be killed...', pleads Imran Khan in SC

Khan was arrested inside the courthouse on Tuesday. The Islamabad High Court heard the case and decided late in the day that it was legal.On Wednesday, the PTI petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the IHC decision. The SC dismissed the petition. On Wednesday morning at the Islamabad judicial complex, PTI leader Asad Umar was also detained after arriving to make a request to meet Khan. What offences led to his arrest was not immediately clear.