By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on Saturday from his residence in Lahore, hours after a court convicted him of corrupt practices in a case related to the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure.
Khan, who is the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 100,000 rupees ($600) by an Islamabad trial court for concealing details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana, a repository where such presents are kept.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million rupees.
Protocol requires prime ministers to store the objects in the state’s safe house, while Khan is accused of having sold them at a profit.
“Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details [of Toshakhana gifts] to the ECP and is found guilty of corrupt practices,” Judge Humayun Dilawar ruled.
The court also issued a warrant for his arrest and directed the police to execute it.
Khan’s lawyers were not present in the court. As the court decision was announced, a crowd, which included some prosecuting lawyers, began chanting “Imran Khan is a thief” outside the building.
Khan’s party confirmed his arrest on Twitter and said he was being taken to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. “Imran Khan is being moved to Kot Lakhpat Jail,” PTI’s Punjab tweeted.
The case against Khan was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) The ECP had disqualified Khan from holding public office in October 2022 under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution, which bars anyone who is guilty of corrupt practices from being a member of parliament.
Khan had challenged the ECP’s decision in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which stayed the proceedings and asked the trial court to re-examine the case in light of eight legal questions.
The trial court, however, ruled that the case was maintainable and resumed the hearing.
Khan’s arrest is the latest setback for the former cricket star, who has been facing several legal troubles since he lost power in a parliamentary vote in 2022. He was elected prime minister in 2018 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform.
He was also arrested in May this year in another case related to his alleged misuse of funds from a charity trust. He was then released, with the arrest declared illegal. Khan has denied all the charges.
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