Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan faced questioning by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges yesterday, based on his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry. This comes lower than per week after Khan refused a summons to appear and dismissed the allegations in opposition to him. The ex-cricket star, who has been in a confrontational relationship with the country’s powerful navy, was arrested and detained on May 9, prompting widespread protests and issues about Pakistan’s stability amid its worst financial crisis in a long time.
“He has joined the investigation,” Chaudhry said, referring to Khan’s questioning by NAB officers. Bushra Khan, his spouse, who additionally faces graft charges, accompanied him, but had not been questioned as of early Tuesday afternoon. While she has not commented on the charges, Khan has rejected them.
Khan, 70 years outdated, turned prime minister in 2018 with the military’s implicit assist, which each side denied at the time. However, he later fell out with the generals and was faraway from office after losing a confidence vote in 2022. Since then, he has been campaigning for a snap election, holding rallies with supporters across Pakistan.
The present prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, has refused Khan’s call for a common election before it’s due later this year. Extraordinary ’s has garnered widespread popularity among Pakistan’s 220 million individuals with a conservative, nationalistic agenda, and his problem to the army institution has additional solidified his assist.
Recent protests in opposition to his arrest noticed his supporters ransacking the homes of senior officers and storming military headquarters, posing an unprecedented challenge to the nation’s strongest establishment. The NAB, which has investigated, tried, or jailed all prime ministers since 2008, had asked Khan to attend the investigation on May 18, but he declined. The NAB set a May 25 deadline for Khan to appear, which may have resulted in his arrest if he failed to comply..