- Title: Pakistan ex-PM Khan's arrest spark mixed reactions from residents
- Date: 6th August 2023
- Summary: ATTOCK, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ATTOCK DISTRICT JAIL WHERE FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN WAS REPORTED TO BE IMPRISONED SINCE HIS ARREST VARIOUS OF ARMED PRISON GUARD STANDING ON WATCH TOWER AT ATTOCK JAIL EXTERIOR OF JAIL POLICE VAN MOVING PAST ROAD BLOCK POLICE VANS STATIONED ALONG ROAD LEADING TO ATTOCK JAIL VARIOUS OF POLICE STANDING NEXT TO POLICE VAN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING NEAR ROAD BLOCK ON STREET LEADING TO ATTOCK JAIL (SOUNDITE) (Urdu) RICKSHAW DRIVER, ADIL AWAN, SAYING: "(The judgement) was wrong, it was totally wrong. We are with Imran Khan. He is an honest person, a sincere person. The arrest is totally unjustified." VARIOUS OF CONTRACTOR AZEEM ASGHAR INSPECTING PETROL STATION WHICH IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION LABOURERS WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) LOCAL CONTRACTOR, AZEEM ASGHAR, SAYING: "Obviously the judge is in the best position to make a decision, so he must be right. But Mr. Khan should also have shown some resilience in politics. He started picking fights with people the minute he came to power, trying to corner people and making enemies. He should have shown some flexibility in politics." LAHORE, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) SIGN DIRECTING TO NEIGHBOURHOOD WHERE KHAN'S HOUSE IS LOCATED, READING (English) "ZAMAN PARK LANE 2" / ROAD LEADING TO ZAMAN PARK BARRIER ON ROAD LEADING TO ZAMAN PARK TRAFFIC MOVING ON ROAD VARIOUS OF SHOESHINER, KHAIR ULLAH, POLISHING SHOES (SOUNDITE) (Urdu) SHOESHINER, KHAIR ULLAH, SAYING: "It (Khan's arrest) was wrong. Believe me, it is very very wrong. Why was he arrested? They are continuously talking about the Toshakhana (government department where state gifts are kept). Why is no one talking about the gifts that were looted from the Toshakhana by the Sharifs and (former President) Zardari?" NEWSPAPER KIOSK HEADLINE OF URDU NEWSPAPER DAILY JANG, READING (Urdu): "CHAIRMAN OF PTI DISQUALIFIED, SENT TO JAIL FOR 3 YEARS"
- Embargoed: 20th August 2023 08:11
- Keywords: Attock Imran Khan Lahore Pakistan former Prime Minister jail prison sentence
- Location: ATTOCK, LAHORE, PAKISTAN
- City: ATTOCK, LAHORE, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001261906082023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Pakistan residents on Sunday (August 6) gave their divided opinions about the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a day after a court found the ex-premier guilty for illegally selling state gifts and sentenced him to three years in prison.
Residents of Attock, a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab province, where Khan was reported by local media to be imprisoned in its district jail, gave differing points of view about Khan's arrest. While some of his supporters felt the arrest was unjustified, a local contractor felt the former prime minister made political enemies by "picking fights with people the minute he came to power".
Legal experts say the guilty verdict reached by an Islamabad district court could eliminate Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's greatest rival in a national election expected in November.
Khan, 70, is a former cricket star who went on to forge a political career, serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He has denied wrongdoing and in a pre-recorded video address released by his party he asked supporters to protest peacefully.
(Production: Salah Uddin, Naeem Abbas, Sheree Sardar) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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