Imran Khan Arrested After Conviction In Toshakhana Case; Disqualified For 5 Years

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was on Saturday arrested after he was sentenced to three years in prison in a corruption case in which he is accused of profiting from selling expensive state gifts when he was in power. As a result, the PTI leader has also been disqualified from contesting elections for five years.

Additional Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based district and sessions judge also imposed Rs100,000 fine on Khan, adding that he would be kept in jail for another six months if failed to pay the fine.

The verdict comes after a Pakistani high court on Friday set aside the verdict of a lower court and asked it to rehear a corruption case in which Khan was accused of profiting from selling expensive state gifts when he was in power.

''Charges of misdeclaration of assets have been proven against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman,'' Dilawar said in his judgment.

Khan, 70, was arrested from his residence in Lahore by Islamabad police in coordination with the Punjab police after the court verdict, his family said.

In a brief post on the X platform, his party said: "Imran Khan is being moved to Kot Lakhpat Jail." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's special assistant Attaullah Tarar has confirmed the arrest of Khan. ''It will be decided later whether he is to be kept at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi or elsewhere,'' he said while talking to reporters.

Khan was convicted in the Toshakhana case which was filed last year on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had earlier disqualified him in the same case.

The verdict came a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) set aside a session court's verdict to uphold the maintainability of the Toshakhana case for criminal proceedings against Khan.

What is Toshakhana case

The Toshakhana case refers to a case in Pakistan in which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former President Asif Ali Zardari and others were accused of illegally obtaining luxury vehicles and other gifts at the expense of the government treasury when they were in power.

Khan was also accused of receiving a luxury car from the government treasury during the tenure of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. However, he has denied the allegations and claimed that he had returned the car to the treasury.

In August 2022, a reference was filed against Khan by the Pakistan government for 'not sharing details' of the Toshakhana gifts in annual assets submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which initiated an inquiry and announced its final verdict on 21 October 2022.

70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was disqualified by the ECP under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution over "false statements and incorrect declaration" for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch, a pair of cufflinks, an expensive pen, a ring and four costly Rolex watches that he had received as Prime Minister at a discounted price and selling them for profit.