From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Imran Khan, Pak's historical past of jailing ex-PMs | World News

From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Imran Khan, Pak's historical past of jailing ex-PMs | World News [ad_1]

With Imran Khan's sentencing and swift arrest on Saturday in a corruption scenario, Pakistan has preserved its notoriety for jailing previous key ministers although shying absent from getting any motion in opposition to armed service dictators who continuously violated the Structure. (Comply with Are living updates on Imran Khan's arrest in this article)

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Previous Pakistani Primary Minister Imran Khan(Reuters)(*5*)

Khan, the main of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social gathering was arrested from his Zaman Park home in Lahore soon after an Islamabad-centered classes courtroom sentenced him to 3 many years in jail on the prices of hiding the proceeds from the sale of condition presents from the Toshakhana.

The Toshakhana is a office less than the Cupboard Division that shops presents supplied to rulers and authorities officers by heads of other governments and international dignitaries. Khan acquired some presents which includes a valuable view supplied to him by the Saudi crown prince and offered the exact same for earnings.

The 70-calendar year-previous chief was authorised to purchase the presents from Toshakhana and also have out the sale but unsuccessful to advise the Election Fee of Pakistan about the dollars he produced for which he was accused of concealment which is a criminal offense less than the regulation.

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In superior occasions, Khan could have escaped with a warning or a wonderful by the courtroom, but he experienced presently operate out of luck when he fell out with the strong armed service institution that led to his ouster from the authorities in April very last calendar year.

Khan is not the very first Pakistani leading to conclude up in jail, the nation has quite a few unenvious illustrations of the cure meted out to elected leaders in its sordid historical past.

The very first on the record is Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Bengali politician from then East Pakistan who served as the fifth key minister. He was arrested in January 1962 and set in jail on bogus prices of “anti-condition activities”. His genuine criminal offense was his refusal to assistance armed service ruler Normal Ayub Khan.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who served as the ninth key minister, was arrested on the prices of conspiracy to murder a political opponent in 1974. He was sentenced to loss of life and hanged on April 4, 1979.

Benazir Bhutto served as the leading 2 times from 1988 to 1990 and once more from 1993 to 1996. The country's only female key minister was arrested many occasions -- very first in 1985 and set less than household arrest for ninety times.

In August 1986, she was arrested for denouncing the armed service dictator Ziaul Haq at a rally in Karachi. In April 1999, she was sentenced to 5 many years imprisonment for corruption and disqualified and fined additional than 5 million lbs .. She averted arrest as she was in self-exile.

Nawaz Sharif was arrested in 1999 soon after Normal Pervez Musharraf took about and afterwards on exiled for ten many years.

In July 2018, he was sentenced to ten many years in jail together with his daughter Maryam Nawaz in a corruption scenario. In December of the exact same calendar year, he was handed about 7 many years in jail in the Al-Azizia Metal Mills corruption scenario. He went to London for cure in 2019 and by no means arrived back again.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested in July 2019 in link with a Liquefied Organic Gasoline (LNG) corruption scenario but afterwards on, bailed out.

Imran Khan was also arrested on Could 9, 2023 in an additional corruption scenario but launched soon after a few of times soon after the intervention by the Supreme Court docket. He was sentenced to 3 many years in jail in the Toshakhana scenario on August 5, 2023.

Commenting on his conviction and arrest, popular journalist and Geo News anchorman Hamid Mir explained that he was not the very first key minister despatched to jail and may well not be the very last 1.

“First Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, then Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then Benazir Bhutto, then Nawaz Sharif and now Imran Khan. Primary Ministers and politicians are generally punished,” he tweeted.

He also explained that no key minister in the historical past of Pakistan has nevertheless served their total 5-calendar year time period.

In stark distinction, none of the 4 armed service dictators – Auyb Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf – confronted justice for toppling elected governments and subverting the Structure.

The strong Pakistan Military, which has dominated the coup-susceptible nation for additional than 50 % of its seventy five many years of existence, has wielded significant energy in issues of stability, international plan as effectively as politics.

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