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On arrival in Pakistan, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his
daughter Maryam are facing arrest in a case relating to the purchase of
high-end properties in London. We thought it would be interesting to
look back at all the major political figures in Pakistan who have spent
time behind bars.
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Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (1916 – 2003)
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was detained time and again for being very
vocal against military rulers. Zia-ul-Haq, who ruled for a decade, put
Nawabzada under house arrest for nearly five years. During Musharraf’s
government, he headed that 16-party Alliance for the Restoration of
Democracy (ARD). Nawabzada was briefly arrested for announcing to hold a
rally in Lahore. |
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Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007)
Benazir Bhutto has also been behind bars. In 1981, she was imprisoned in
Sukkur Jail under harsh conditions for six months. Later, she was
shifted to Karachi Central Jail where she remained imprisoned for the
next six months. Benazir Bhutto was also placed under house arrest in
Larkana for 11 months. In 1985, Benazir was kept under house arrest in
Karachi for four months, until her return to France. While taking part
in pro-democracy rallies during the Zia regime in 1986, Benazir was
again detained for several weeks in Landhi Jail. |
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Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Zardari has spent 11 years in jail on charges ranging from
corruption to murder and money laundering. He was first jailed from 1990
to 1993 and then from 1996 to 2004. |
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Nawaz Sharif
After Pervez Musharraf’s 1999 coup, Nawaz Sharif was convicted of
treason and sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court. But at
the request of the Saudi monarch King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Nawaz
Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif were released from prison after a year and
exiled to Saudi Arabia in December 2000. They were kept in Attock,
Landhi, and Adiala jails. |
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Imran Khan
After Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in Nov 2007, Imran Khan, the
then opposition politician, remained in week-long custody. Khan was
arrested after trying to take charge of a student protest in Lahore
against the state of emergency. He was detained in the Dera Ghazi Khan
jail. He was demanding the reinstatement of supreme court judges fired
by Musharraf.
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Javed Hashmi
Senior politician Javed Hashmi was detained for about four years – from
2003 to 2007 – after he was convicted on treason charges for criticizing
the army.
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Altaf Hussain
MQM founder Altaf Hussain was arrested at least three times during his
political career since 1979. He was sent to jail for nine months in
1979, four months in 1986 and five months in 1987 in connection with
different cases.
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