Former Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, 70, has been arrested in Lahore on Saturday after the Islamabad district court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts and potentially barring the opposition leader from contesting an upcoming election, CNN reports.
The sentence relates to a probe conducted by the election commission, which found the ex-premier guilty of illegally selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000) during his tenure from 2018 to 2022.
However, Khan pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Legal experts say that the guilty verdict reached by the court could eliminate Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s greatest rival in a national election expected to be held in November.
Khan’s lawyer, Intezar Panjotha said, “Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence. We are filing a petition against the decision in the high court.”
Lahore’s Police, Chief Bilal Siddique Kamiana, confirmed the arrest and noted that the politician was being transferred to the capital, Islamabad.
Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in a statement, said that they had already filed another appeal to the Supreme Court on Saturday.
His arrest and brief detention on a separate case in May triggered violent clashes between his supporters and the police.
