Pakistani politicians in and out of prison since the election

Here is the look at the high-profile politicians who were imprisoned, soon after the national election in Pakistan, when Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formed the government. While most of those serving time, or detained, belong to the rival political parties, one politician from the PTI was also put behind bars.

Asif Ali Zardari

Former president, Asif Ali Zardari, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an anti-graft body, on June 11 for questioning into a case of fake bank accounts and money laundering of multi-million rupees.

Nawaz Sharif

In December, Nawaz Sharif, the three-time prime minister, was sentenced to seven years in jail in a case of corruption through his company, the Al-Azizia Steel Mills, by an accountability court. Soon after, he was taken into custody by the NAB and moved to a local state prison. In May, he returned to jail again after his six-week bail expired.

Altaf Hussain

Altaf Hussain, the founder of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) political party, was cuffed on June 12 in London, where he has been in self-imposed exile since the last two decades. London’s Metropolitan police picked him up from his home for questioning related to an incendiary speech he made in 2016. As of now, he has been released on bail.

Shehbaz Sharif

Last October, Shehbaz Sharif, the president of Pakistan’s second largest political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), was called in for a probe by the NAB. During the questioning, he was detained by the anti-graft body in connection to a Rs14 billion Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme project. For now, Sharif is out on bail granted by the court.

Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique

The two brothers, Khawaja Saad Rafique, who was recently elected a member of the national assembly, and Khawaja Salman Rafique, who was a member of the provincial assembly in Punjab, were arrested by the NAB in December last year. The two were under investigation for embezzlement through a housing society.

Aleem Khan

Abdul Aleem Khan, a senior leader of the ruling-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the minister for local government in Punjab, was detained also by the NAB in a case involving possession of assets in London and Dubai beyond his known means of income. Recently, he was released on bail, while the case against him is still ongoing.

Hamza Shehbaz

Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of the opposition in Punjab and the senior leader of the PML-N, was cuffed and taken to the NAB’s Lahore office after the Lahore High Court rejected his pre-bail application on June 12. He is accused of money laundering and owning assets beyond his known source of income.

Ali Wazir

The independent member of the National Assembly was arrested after a clash between workers of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and troops of the military in the tribal belt of Pakistan. Wazir was presented before an anti-terrorism court and has now been shifted to the central jail in Peshawar.

Mohsin Dawar

A few days later, another member of the parliament, Mohsin Dawar, who was also booked in the same case as Ali Wazir, handed himself over to the authorities for interrogation. He too has been lodged at the central jail in Peshawar.

Faryal Talpur

Faryal Talpur was put under house arrest in Islamabad, by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in June. Talpur is one of the co-accused in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case, for which her brother, Asif Ali Zardari, was also arrested. She is a member of the provincial assembly in Sindh.

Agha Siraj Durrani 

In February, the NAB took in its custody the speaker of the Sindh assembly and a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Agha Siraj Durrani. According to the Bureau, Durrani made an illegal appointment, misused his power and owns assets beyond his known source of income.

Sibtain Khan 

Sibtain Khan, Punjab's minister for forestry, wildlife and fisheries, was arrested by the NAB in a case pertaining to the illegal award of contracts of extracting iron ore in Chiniot, Punjab, to a favourable firm that had no prior experience of mining. The charges were framed when Khan was in the Punjab cabinet in 2007.

Rana Sanaullah 

In July, Rana Sanaullah, a member of the national assembly and the president of the PML-N’s Punjab chapter, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force over his alleged links with drug traffickers.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi 

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and an MNA from the PML-N was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in a case related to the award of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract.