Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan arrested after being sentenced to 3 years jail in Toshakhana case
Pakistan court sentences former PM Imran Khan three years in jail and disqualified him for five years
PremiumFormer Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, was arrested after being sentenced to three year jail term by a Pakistan trial court on Saturday. The court found him guilty of illegally selling state gifts, popularly knwon as the Toshakhana corruption case. The court also disqualified him from politics for five years.
Imran Khan was not in court for the hearing. Soon after the announcement, Pakistan police arrested Imran Khan from his residence, reported Reuters citing Imran Khan's lawyers statement.
"Judge Humayun Dilawar announced that involvement in corrupt practices has been proven," reported AFP quoting Pakistan TV.
Also read: 'Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan could be jailed if…': Law Minister Azam Tarar
Imran Khan is facing over 150 cases brought against him since he was ousted in April last year. In contrast, Imran Khan alleges that the cases are politically motivated. On his arrest, Imran Khan's legal team said that they would be filing an immediate appeal.
"It's important to mention there was no chance given to present witnesses, neither was time allotted to round up arguments," a member of the team said, reported AFP.
Also read: 'Imran Khan responsible for economic crisis in Pakistan' says Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif
Despite multiple attempts, if Imran Khan fails to save himself from the conviction, then it would be difficult for the cricketer-turned-politician to participate in the national elections scheduled to take place before November this year, reported Reuters.
Other than announcing the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of ₹1,00,000 on the Tehreek-e-Insaf chief. The case was filed against Imran Khan by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts.
Also read: Imran Khan, former Pakistan PM, arrested in corruption case, party leader says ‘he’s being beaten'
Local media, ‘The Dawn’ reported that the judge said that Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details to the Election Commission of Pakistan and was found guilty of corrupt practices.
Toshakhana case
The case that was filed by the ECP in May alleges Pakistan Prime Minister of ‘deliberately concealing’ details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana. It is a repository where presents offered to government officials during their foreign visits are kept. The PM was alleged of concealing the details of gifts that were kept during his tenure.
The Toshakhana rules say that the details of the gifts and presents offered to respective officials shall be reported to the Cabinet Division. Imran Khan is facing a number of legal issues over his retention of gifts. This also led to his disqualification by the ECP.
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