A day after his arrest on corruption charges, the lawyers of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced today (Wednesday) that he has been placed in pretrial detention for eight days.
Ali Bukhari, one of Khan’s lawyers, said: After a closed hearing, the court decided to place Imran Khan in pre-trial detention for eight days, but the Pakistani TV station, Geo News, reported that the court today indicted Khan for illegally selling government gifts during his presidency. Ministers from 2018 to 2022.
The indictment comes in the wake of a decision issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan last October, which convicted Khan of selling official gifts illegally and prevented him from holding any public office until the next elections, but Khan denies any wrongdoing.
Yesterday, the Pakistani authorities arrested Khan and charged him with other property corruption charges. At the direction of the Corruption Commission, which sparked violent protests across the country.
Planning and Development Minister Ihsan Iqbal denied that Khan’s arrest was motivated by political abuse, and was not ordered by the government, explaining that the arrest comes within the framework of proper legal procedures taken by the National Accountability Office, which he confirmed is independent.
