Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan has been arrested for illegally selling state gifts, his lawyer has said.
According to his lawyer, Intezar Panjotha , Khan was arrested at his residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday.
“Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence,” Mr Panjotha told Reuters. "We are filing a petition against the decision in high court.”
Lahore’s Police Chief Bilal Siddique Kamiana confirmed the arrest and told Reuters the politician was being transferred to the capital, Islamabad.
Khan‘s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement they had already filed another appeal to the Supreme Court earlier on Saturday.
The conviction came just a day after Pakistan’s high court had temporarily halted the district court trial. It was not immediately clear why the trial had proceeded despite the high court decision.
Khan‘s arrest and detention for several days in May over a separate case had sparked intense political turmoil and deadly clashes had erupted between Khan supporters and police.
The latest arrest comes in the lead up to an election expected to take place in the next three months. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has proposed that parliament be dissolved on Aug. 9, three days before the end of its term, according to political, paving the way for a general election by November.
Pakistani media and a Reuters witness described police surrounding Khan‘s residence in Lahore on Saturday after verdict was released.
The sentence relates to an inquiry conducted by the election commission, which found Khan guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
Khan has denied any wrongdoing.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).
