Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrested in additional graft cases while already in Jail

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan. File Photo/AFP

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail for the cipher case, faces additional legal troubles as the country's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested him in the Al-Qadir Trust case and Toshakhana case, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The arrest was made after Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir ratified the warrants and directed the Adiala Jail superintendent to execute them, as reported by the Dawn newspaper. Khan's arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case occurred when a NAB team, led by Assistant Director Muhammad Asif and Waqarul Hasan, visited District Jail (Adiala), Rawalpindi, to execute the arrest warrants.

This development signifies Khan's involvement in the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir cases. Khan, the cricket star turned politician will be investigated in jail by a NAB team after obtaining his physical remand from a court of law.

Also read: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan seeks bail in Cipher case

Khan, 71, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail in connection with the cipher case since his arrest in August. The Al-Qadir Trust case revolves around the settlement of £190 million (approximately Rs 50 billion) sent to Pakistan by the UK's National Crime Agency from a Pakistani property tycoon. Khan, as the prime minister, allowed the businessman to use the amount to settle a fine imposed by the Supreme Court.

In return, the tycoon reportedly gifted about 57 acres of land to a trust established by Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to establish the Al-Qadir University in the Sohawa area of the Jhelum district of Punjab.

The court had also issued arrest warrants for Khan in the Toshakhana gifts case, a separate case from the one in which he was convicted in August and later granted bail. This case, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan, involves allegations of hiding proceeds from the gifts received from the Toshakhana.

The recent arrest warrant was issued by the NAB, which sought Khan's arrest to complete investigations in the two cases. The court accepted the plea and directed the superintendent of Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, to ensure compliance. (With inputs from agencies)