Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Arrested After Corruption Conviction

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Saturday after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for corruption, a development that could end his future in politics.

The court ruled that Khan, who was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022, but remains the country’s main opposition figure, had hidden assets after selling state gifts. Police moved quickly to take the former cricket star from his home in the eastern city of Lahore to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, police officer Ali Nasir Rizvi said.

Efforts to put the divisive politician behind bars have intensified ahead of this year’s general election because his popularity and large support base, combined with his ability to mobilize massive crowds, pose a threat to the ruling coalition and its backers in Pakistan’s mighty army that has been the final arbiter of the country’s politics since independence from Britain in 1947.

This is the second time this year that Khan has been detained, joining other former Pakistani prime ministers who have been arrested and seen military intervention over the years. he has been slapped with more than 150 legal cases since his removal from office, including several on charges of corruption, terrorism and inciting violence in deadly protests after his arrest in May when his supporters attacked government and military properties across the country.

The prison sentence could bar Khan from doing politics before this year’s election under a law that says people with a criminal conviction cannot hold or run for public office. His party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, said it would challenge the decision.

Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb denied that Khan’s arrest had anything to do with the upcoming election, saying Khan had been given every opportunity to defend himself against asset concealment charges.

“Instead, Imran Khan used the time to delay the legal proceedings and went back and forth to the high court and the supreme court to stop this case,” he said.

Aurangzeb added that Khan has been “proven guilty of illegal practices, corruption, concealment of assets and misreporting of wealth in tax returns.”

PTI spokesman Rauf Hasan described the asset concealment trial as “the worst in history and tantamount to the murder of justice.”

Khan’s party released a video message showing him at his Lahore home behind a desk with the Pakistani and PTI flags in the background. It was not immediately clear when the recording took place.

He told his followers that he would be in jail when the message reached them and that they should not stay silent at home.

“I’m not doing this for my freedom,” he said. “I do it for my nation, for you, for the future of your children. If you don’t stand up for your rights, you will live the life of slaves and slaves have no life.”

He urged people to protest peacefully until they get their rights, namely a government of their choice through voting and “not like the occupying power today.”

In Lahore, a group of pro-Khan lawyers came to his home in Zaman Park and chanted chants in protest of his conviction and arrest. In the same city, supporters of a rival political party handed out sweets to celebrate the arrest.

His former political secretary, Aun Chaudhry, said Saturday’s events will help political stability, while Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari described the day’s events as comeuppance for Khan.

Khan was transferred on Saturday night to a high-security jail in Punjab’s Attock district, known for its harsh conditions. His inmate population includes convicted militants and militants awaiting trial.

Khan is the seventh former prime minister to be arrested in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and hanged in 1979. The brother of the current prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who also served as prime minister, was arrested several times on corruption charges.

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Babar Dogar contributed from Lahore.