Pakistan’s jailed ex-premier gets another arrest warrant in 2 cases

KARACHI, Pakistan

A Pakistani court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the country’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in two separate cases, a court record said.

The fresh warrant was issued by an accountability court in the capital Islamabad at the request of the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in cases that accuse Khan of illegally purchasing and selling state gifts, and receiving billions of rupees and a large piece of costly land from a property tycoon in 2020 to build an educational institution.

The court ordered the implementation of the arrest warrant “in accordance with the law.”

The ex-premier has already been languishing in jail for the last several months on remand in a case, commonly known as the “cipher case,” accusing Khan of exposing state secrets.

The case is related to diplomatic communications between Washington and Islamabad, which Khan says was part of a US conspiracy to topple his government.

Khan, who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 2018-2022, lost a vote of confidence in parliament last April, one year short of completing his term.

In August, he was sentenced by a trial court in Islamabad for concealing details and unlawfully selling state gifts he received as the prime minister and consequently was barred from holding public office for five years by the country’s Election Commission.

The Islamabad High Court, however, suspended his sentence and ordered his release weeks later.