Former Pakistani Leader Imran Khan Is Arrested
2 min read . Updated: 09 May 2023, 07:06 PM IST 
PremiumOnetime prime minister and cricket star remains at odds with country’s government after his ouster last year
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on corruption charges Tuesday, government officials said, escalating a confrontation between the opposition politician and the country’s civilian and military leaders.
Mr. Khan, who is attempting a comeback just over a year after being ousted from power, was detained as he arrived at a court in Islamabad to appear for a hearing in another case. The government has filed dozens of cases against Mr. Khan since he lost a confidence vote in Parliament in April last year, allegations that he says are politically motivated.
Local television footage showed Mr. Khan, a former cricket star, being bundled into a pickup truck by security personnel in riot gear. He was then driven away, with security personnel hanging off the vehicle.
“Imran Khan has been whisked away by unknown people to an unknown location," said Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a senior member of Mr. Khan’s party.
Politics in nuclear-armed Pakistan has been in a state of chaos since Mr. Khan was removed from power, setting off his campaign to return to office. The country is also reeling from floods, terrorism and the threat of bankruptcy as it seeks to reach a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund. The country is running dangerously low on foreign-exchange reserves, putting it at risk of defaulting on its foreign debt payments.
Mr. Khan’s arrest threatens to exacerbate the political and economic turmoil in the country.
Pakistan’s interior minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, said that the opposition leader was arrested under anticorruption laws. He denied allegations from Imran Khan’s party that their leader was roughed up during the arrest.
Mr. Khan, who currently leads opinion polls in Pakistan, accuses the government of obfuscating over the date of national elections, due by October. Regional ballots this year haven’t taken place in the period required under the constitution.
Talks held in recent days between Mr. Khan’s party and the government to agree on a date for national and regional elections have been inconclusive.
Mr. Khan alleges that senior serving military officials were behind an assassination attempt in which he was shot in the leg at a political rally in November, a charge he has repeated in recent days. The military denies the accusation.
“These fabricated and malicious allegations are extremely unfortunate, deplorable and unacceptable," the military said in a statement Monday.
Mr. Khan hasn’t fully recovered from the shooting and now often uses a wheelchair.