Pakistani court indicts ex-leader Khan for theft of state gifts

Indictment

A Pakistani court has indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan, for allegedly stealing gifts he received during his tenure.

The charge may disqualify him from becoming premier again and would also mean a jail term if he is convicted.

“Khan has pleaded not guilty,” Sher Afzal Marwat, the ex-leader’s lawyer told reporters on Wednesday.

The former premier faces charges of theft of expensive gifts he received from other countries during his time in office between 2018 and 2022.

Khan faces charges in more than 100 different cases. The indictment in this particular case was rescheduled several times as he failed to attend the proceedings.

He also faces allegations of corruption as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an independent anti-graft body, probes a multi-million-dollar property deal involving the real estate tycoon.

Meanwhile, an accountability court ordered for Khan to be remanded in custody for eight days as investigations into the allegations on which he was arrested a day earlier continue.

Khan was arrested on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with the NAB case on Tuesday, sparking violent protests across the country that already faces extensive political and economic problems.

The authorities shut down mobile internet and access to larger social media platforms and closed educational institutions in major cities including the capital.

At least three people died in clashes in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one person was killed in the south-western province of Balochistan, officials told dpa.

Military installations and buildings in particular came under attack in several cities, as Khan’s supporters see the army as being behind the former leader’s arrest.

In an unprecedented move, protesters stormed the military’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Thousands of paramilitary troops and officers were deployed in the capital Islamabad as Khan’s supporters converged on the city before the hearing held in a fortified police compound rather than a courtroom.

At some distance from the site, around 300 workers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party clashed with riot police but were unable to advance.

Meanwhile other parts of the capital looked deserted, with only a few customers visiting markets and restaurants that remained open despite the tensions.

In Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, the authorities deployed the army to maintain law and order.

The Interior Ministry said it was not yet clear how many troops were being deployed.

“Police have arrested 945 people from across the province for attacking policemen and government buildings,” Syed Mubashir Hussain, a spokesperson for the Punjab police, told dpa.

He said that at least 130 officials had been injured in the violence.

“This [deployment] is a bid to incite the people against the army,” Khan’s close aide, Fawad Chaudhry told reporters in Islamabad.

Chaudhry called on the army chief to revisit the decision.

However, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regional government also requested the army be deployed to maintain law and order.

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi urged party workers in a video message to continue their peaceful protest until Khan’s release.

Pakistani politics have been in disarray since Khan was removed in a parliamentary vote of no confidence last year.

The nation is at risk of default due to low productivity levels, with the aftermath of the disastrous flooding in September 2022 further weighing on the economy.

(dpa/NAN)