Former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday was arrested in a corruption case by Rangers personnel from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). 

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was taken into custody as part of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation in the Al-Qadir Trust case ahead of his appearance before the IHC bench to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him. 

This is not the first time in Pakistan that a former head of the state was taken into custody. 

Here is a list of premiers arrested in different cases in the country’s history. 

January 1962

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who served as the fifth prime minister, refused to support Gen Ayub Khan’s military coup. He was arrested on bogus charges of “anti-state activities”. 

September 1977

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who served as the ninth prime minister, was taken into custody on the charges of conspiracy to murder a political opponent in 1974. He was sentenced to death and executed on April 4, 1979.

August 1985

Benazir Bhutto served as the premier twice from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was detained first in 1985 and put under house arrest for 90 days.

August 1986

Later, she was arrested in 1986 for denouncing the government at a rally in Karachi on independence day. 

April 1999

Benazir was sentenced to five years imprisonment for corruption and disqualified from holding public office and fined more than £5 million. 

September 2007 

Nawaz Sharif was exiled during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s government for 10 years. He was arrested when he returned to Pakistan and sent to Saudi Arabia to complete the remaining years of exile. 

November 2007

Benazir was again put under arrest for a week in a bid to stop her from leading a long march against Gen Musharraf’s government. 

July 2018

Nawaz was sentenced to 10 years in jail along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz in a corruption case. 

December 2018 

The three-time prime minister was again handed over seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference. 

July 2019

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was arrested in connection with the LNG case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption. 

May 2023

Imran Khan was arrested on the orders of NAB by Rangers personnel on the charges of corruption in the Al-Qadir University Trust case.