Toshakhana case: Police arrest ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan after court gives 3-year jail term

Police arrested former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore on Saturday, his lawyer said, after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts. Imran Khan was arrested from his residence in Lahore by Islamabad police.

Legal experts say a conviction in the case could end Khan’s chances of participating in national elections that have to be held before early November.

Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement they had already filed an appeal in the country’s Supreme Court over the district court case.

Additional Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based district and sessions judge also imposed Rs 100,000 fine on Khan, adding that he would be kept in jail for another six months if failed to pay the fine. The Islamabad trial court also barred him from participating in active politics for five years.

READ:Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi granted bail in separate cases

Khan, 70, 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.

“Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence,” Khan’s lawyer Intezar Panjotha told Reuters. “We are filing a petition against the decision in high court.”

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.

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.

The Toshakhana issue over the sale of state gifts received by the former cricketer-turned-politician became a major issue in national politics after the ECP disqualified Khan on October 21, 2022, for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.

The Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries. Khan bought some of the gifts, including a precious watch, and sold the same for profit.