Timeline of former prime ministers arrested in Pakistan

Former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested by Punjab police on Saturday afternoon from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. The arrest came shortly after an Islamabad trial court declared him guilty of "corrupt practices" in the Toshakhana case.

This is the second time that the former premier has been arrested in just under three months. Earlier on May 9, Imran was detained in Islamabad from the high court's premises in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

But Imran isn't the first former premier to be arrested or to even face legal charges. Pakistan has a long history of incarcerating individuals who have held the country's top executive office.

Here, Dawn.com presents a timeline of former prime ministers of Pakistan who at one point or another spent time in custody.

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was the fifth prime minister of Pakistan (Sept 1956-Oct 1957). He refused to endorse Gen Ayub Khan's seizure of government. Through the Elective Bodies Disqualification Order (Ebdo), he was banned from politics and was later accused of violating the Ebdo in July 1960.

He was released by Lahore High Court Justice Khwaja Mohammad Ahmad Samdani who stated that his arrest had no legal grounds, but was arrested again three days later under Martial Law Regulation 12. The regulation empowered law enforcement agencies to arrest a person who was working against security, law and order, or the smooth running of martial law. This law could not be challenged in any court of law.

Almost three months after his arrest and subsequent release in the Al Qadir Trust case, the former premier was arrested by Punjab police from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Announcing its verdict, the court sentenced Imran — who was absent from court — to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on him for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts. His lawyers were also not present.

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