Via Press Believe of India: With Imran Khan’s sentencing and fast arrest on Saturday in a corruption case, Pakistan has maintained its notoriety for jailing former top ministers whilst shying clear of taking any motion in opposition to army dictators who many times violated the Charter.
Khan, the manager of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) birthday party used to be arrested from his Zaman Park place of dwelling in Lahore after an Islamabad-based classes courtroom sentenced him to 3 years in jail at the fees of hiding the proceeds from the sale of state items from the Toshakhana.
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The Toshakhana is a division below the Cupboard Department that retail outlets items given to rulers and executive officers by way of heads of different governments and overseas dignitaries. Khan purchased some items together with a valuable watch given to him by way of the Saudi crown prince and offered the similar for benefit.
The 70-year-old chief used to be accredited to shop for the items from Toshakhana and likewise perform the sale however failed to tell the Election Fee of Pakistan concerning the cash he made for which he used to be accused of concealment which is a criminal offense below the legislation.
In higher instances, Khan may have escaped with a caution or a high quality by way of the courtroom, however he had already run out of success when he fell out with the tough army status quo that ended in his ouster from the federal government in April remaining yr.
Khan isn’t the primary Pakistani premier to finally end up in prison, the rustic has a large number of unenvious examples of the remedy meted out to elected leaders in its sordid historical past.
The primary at the record is Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Bengali baby-kisser from then East Pakistan who served because the 5th top minister. He used to be arrested in January 1962 and installed prison on bogus fees of “anti-state actions”. His precise crime used to be his refusal to reinforce army ruler Basic Ayub Khan.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who served because the 9th top minister, used to be arrested at the fees of conspiracy to homicide a political opponent in 1974. He used to be sentenced to loss of life and hanged on April 4, 1979.
Benazir Bhutto served because the premier two times from 1988 to 1990 and once more from 1993 to 1996. The rustic’s most effective girl top minister used to be arrested a number of instances — first in 1985 and put below space arrest for 90 days.
In August 1986, she used to be arrested for denouncing the army dictator Ziaul Haq at a rally in Karachi. In April 1999, she used to be sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for corruption and disqualified and fined greater than 5 million kilos. She have shyed away from arrest as she used to be in self-exile.
Nawaz Sharif used to be arrested in 1999 after Basic Pervez Musharraf took over and afterward exiled for 10 years.
In July 2018, he used to be sentenced to ten years in prison together with his daughter Maryam Nawaz in a corruption case. In December of the similar yr, he used to be passed over seven years in jail within the Al-Azizia Metal Generators corruption case. He went to London for remedy in 2019 and not got here again.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi used to be arrested in July 2019 in reference to a Liquefied Herbal Gasoline (LNG) corruption case however afterward, bailed out.
Imran Khan used to be additionally arrested on Would possibly 9, 2023 in every other corruption case however launched after a few days after the intervention by way of the Excellent Court docket. He used to be sentenced to 3 years in prison within the Toshakhana case on August 5, 2023.
Commenting on his conviction and arrest, well-known journalist and Geo Information anchorman Hamid Mir stated that he used to be now not the primary top minister despatched to prison and might not be the remaining one.
“First Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, then Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then Benazir Bhutto, then Nawaz Sharif and now Imran Khan. Top Ministers and politicians are at all times punished,” he tweeted.
He additionally stated that no top minister within the historical past of Pakistan has but served their complete five-year time period.
In stark distinction, not one of the 4 army dictators – Auyb Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf – confronted justice for toppling elected governments and subverting the Charter.
The tough Pakistan Military, which has dominated the coup-prone nation for greater than part of its 75 years of lifestyles, has wielded substantial energy in issues of safety, overseas coverage in addition to politics.