عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Pakistan’s Imran Khan Arrested After Court Sentences Ex-Pm to 3 Years Jail

FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
TT
TT

Pakistan’s Imran Khan Arrested After Court Sentences Ex-Pm to 3 Years Jail

FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo

Police arrested Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday after a court sentenced the opposition leader to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.

Legal experts say the guilty verdict reached by a district court could end Khan's chances of contesting national elections that have to be held before early November.

"Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence," Khan's lawyer Intezar Panjotha told Reuters. "We are filing a petition against the decision in high court.

Lahore's Police Chief Bilal Siddique Kamiana confirmed the arrest and told Reuters the politician was being transferred to the capital, Islamabad.

Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement they had already filed another appeal to the Supreme Court earlier on Saturday.

The conviction came just a day after Pakistan's high court had temporarily halted the district court trial. It was not immediately clear why the trial had proceeded despite the high court decision.

Khan's arrest and detention for several days in May over a separate case had sparked intense political turmoil and deadly clashes had erupted between Khan supporters and police.

The latest arrest comes in the lead up to an election expected to take place in the next three months. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has proposed that parliament be dissolved on Aug. 9, three days before the end of its term, according to political, paving the way for a general election by November.

Pakistani media and a Reuters witness described police surrounding Khan's residence in Lahore on Saturday after verdict was released.

The sentence relates to an inquiry conducted by the election commission, which found Khan guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Khan has denied any wrongdoing.

The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).

Most Viewed

 
 
World

N. Korea Flexes Nuclear-capable Rocket Launcher Ahead of Key Congress

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
TT
TT

N. Korea Flexes Nuclear-capable Rocket Launcher Ahead of Key Congress

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has unveiled a battery of huge nuclear-capable rocket launchers ahead of a key congress of the nation's ruling party, state media said Thursday.

Kim is expected to detail the next phase in North Korea's nuclear weapons program when he opens a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party in coming days.

The 600-mm multiple launch rocket system was front and center as preparations ramped up for the once-in-five-years gathering, widely viewed as North Korea's most important political event.

"When this weapon is used actually, no force would be able to expect God's protection," Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

"It is really a wonderful and attractive weapon."

Photos released by state media showed dozens of launch vehicles parked in neat rows on the plaza of Pyongyang's House of Culture, which will host the congress.

The weapon was "appropriate for a special attack, that is, for accomplishing a strategic mission", Kim told a ceremony on Wednesday, using a common euphemism for nuclear weapons.

He said the weapons system -- which was presented to the congress as a gift from munitions workers -- would deter unnamed enemies.

"There is no need to further explain about its destructive power and military value," AFP quoted Kim as saying.

"This is because it can reduce the aimed target to ashes through surprise and simultaneous attack by focusing its destructive energy."

The launch system could fire rockets with an estimated range of 400 kilometers (250 miles), covering all of South Korea, said analyst Hong Min from the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Its primary purpose is to neutralize the combined air power of South Korea and the United States," he told AFP.

"If equipped with tactical nuclear warheads, a single battery firing four to five rounds could devastate an entire airbase."

South Korea's capital Seoul is less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border at its nearest point.

Analysts believe North Korea would use its vast artillery arsenal to launch saturation strikes on the South should fighting break out.

Kim ordered the expansion and modernization of missile production in the months leading up to the Workers' Party congress.

Pyongyang has also significantly stepped up missile testing.

World

Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
TT
TT

Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT

Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Iranian republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by Etemad daily on Thursday.

"Iran's nuclear program is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology."

The comments follow the second round of Oman-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva on Tuesday.

The two foes had held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

The United States briefly joined the war alongside Israel, striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the United States might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site.

He warned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying that the archipelago's Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a deal, "in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime".

Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment, but has also sought to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.

Western countries accuse the Iranian republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes.

Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an "armada".

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he recently indicated that a second aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, would depart "very soon" for the Middle East.

Separately, the Iranian and Russian navies were conducting joint drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday.

World

Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
TT
TT

Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN

A building collapse caused by an explosion in Pakistan's southern megacity of Karachi killed at least 16 people on Thursday, including children, officials said.

More than a dozen people were injured in the incident in the Soldier Bazaar neighborhood of Karachi at around 4:00 am, when Muslim families start preparing Sehri, the pre-sunrise meal eaten during Ramadan.