The court ruled on Saturday that national cricketing hero Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the country’s leading opposition figure, had concealed assets after selling state gifts. The prison sentence could bar him from politics under a law that prohibits anyone with a criminal conviction from holding or running for public office. He could also lose the chairmanship of the party he founded, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.
Khan was arrested Saturday at his home in the eastern city of Lahore and taken to prison. Government figures on Saturday welcomed Khan’s arrest and conviction, with the foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari describing it as “comeuppance” for the opposition leader. Critics say efforts to put him behind bars are politically motivated and have intensified ahead of elections due to be held later this year. They argue that Khan’s popularity and a large support base pose a threat to the ruling coalition and its backers in Pakistan’s powerful military. It’s the second time this year that Khan has been detained, joining other former Pakistani PMswho had been arrested and seen military interventions throughout the country’s political history.
But his current stay at the Attock prison is a far cry from his custodial conditions in May, when he was taken to a well-appointed guesthouse on a police compound in Islamabad under a Supreme Court order. He was then allowed visitors and meetings with party colleagues. Attock, in eastern Punjab province, is notorious for its harsh conditions and its inmates include convicted militants. Khan’s jail term started Saturday, but it was not immediately clear if he will spend the three-year sentence in Attock. Authorities have further tightened security around the prison, which already has armed guards in watchtowers, by erecting barriers and blocking roads to keep people away. They have also instructed locals not to allow media onto their roofs to stop photographs and videos from leaking. Attock is located on the bank of the River Indus, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province lying on the opposite bank. AP