- Former Prime Ministers have been accused from time to time in Pakistan
New delhi date. 10 May 2023, Wednesday
India's neighboring country Pakistan is currently going through its most difficult phase. The political drama in economic crisis-ridden Pakistan reached a climax on Tuesday when former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested. Then the supporters of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took to the streets and created ruckus.
But this is not the first time in the politics of Pakistan that a former prime minister of the country has been arrested in this way. Even before this, suspicions have been casted on former Prime Ministers in Pakistan from time to time.
Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy
Hussain Shaheed, close to Quaid Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan, was the fifth Prime Minister of the country. He was the Prime Minister of Pakistan from September 1956 to October 1957. He refused to support General Ayub Khan's government. He was subsequently banned from politics by the Electoral Bodies Disqualification Order. But later in July 1960 he was arrested for violating the law.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 1973 to July 1977. He was arrested in September 1977 on charges of conspiring to assassinate a political rival in 1974. Later, Justice Khawaja Mohammad Ahmad Samdani of the Lahore High Court released him saying that there was no basis for his arrest. But he was re-arrested three days later under Martial Law Regulation 12. He was hanged on 4 April 1979.
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto became the Prime Minister of Pakistan twice. He was the Wazir-e-Azam of the country for the first time from December 1998 to August 1990 and for the second time from October 1993 to November 1996. He came to Pakistan in August 1985 to attend his brother's funeral. But he was kept under house arrest for 90 days. The following year in 1986, he was arrested for criticizing the government at a rally in Karachi on the occasion of Independence Day. After returning to the country in 2007, he was killed in a suicide attack.
Yusuf Raza Gilani
Yusuf Raza Gilani was the Prime Minister of the coalition government in 2008. An arrest warrant was issued against him in a corruption case. He was accused of transacting money in the name of fake companies. He had to be removed from the post in 2012.
Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif lost power in 1999 after the Kargil war. He became the Prime Minister of Pakistan three times. Nawaz Sharif was forced into exile for ten years during the Pervez Musharraf government. After returning to Pakistan, he was arrested and sent to Saudi Arabia for deportation.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the Prime Minister of Pakistan from January 2017 to May 2018. He was arrested by the NAB team in July 2019. He was accused of corruption in the 2013 LNG import contract. He was granted bail in February 2020.
Imran Khan
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was arrested on 9 May 2023. He was arrested by NAB and Pak Rangers. He has been arrested on charges of corruption. Following his arrest, his supporters staged demonstrations in several cities. Incidents of violence also came to light during this.
