Former Pakistan Prime Minister Arrested for Graft

News

Pakistan’s anti-graft officials arrested former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday, in the latest blow to Pakistan’s opposition party that has accused current Prime Minister Imran Khan of targeting its leaders.

Related Articles

Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?
Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?

Reported by

Haroon Janjua
July 19th, 2019
Fraud Police

In a statement, the National Accountability Bureau spokesperson confirmed Abbasi's arrest, which is part of a graft investigation initiated last year over the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the gulf state of Qatar. 

Abbasi, 60, who served as prime minister of the country from August 2017 to May 2018, was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore and will be presented before an anti-corruption court. In 2018 his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), lost to Khan, a former cricket star who ran on a populist anti-corruption platform.

Abbasi's party leader and predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, is currently serving a seven-year sentence for corruption. 

Following Abassi’s arrest on Thursday, Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who has been questioned for tax evasion in the past, tweeted "another elected prime minister has been arrested. Will anyone else coming to power by vote also face the same lawlessness, humiliation, and injustice?”

Ahsan Iqbal a senior PML-N leader who accompanied Abassi during his arrest, blamed Imran Khan for only targeting opposition in the name of accountability, and compared him to Hitler. 

The Sharif's PML-N party is currently locked in a harsh impasse with Khan's government, and last week the PML-N shared a video that questioned the judicial impartiality in the country.

Related Reporting