Pakistan anti-corruption body arrests key opposition leader

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's anti-graft body Tuesday ordered the arrest of a key opposition leader on charges of having assets higher than his known sources of income, a spokesman said.

The arrest of Khawaja Asif, who served as foreign minister in the government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, comes days after the opposition asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign until Jan. 31 or face prolonged agitation in the capital Islamabad.

Pakistani opposition parties have been holding rallies across the country to pressure Khan to resign over his alleged failure to improve the country's economy.


In a brief statement, Nawazish Ali, a spokesperson for the National Accountability Bureau, confirmed Asif's arrest, saying he was taken into custody for having ``assets beyond known sources of income.``

Asif has been critical of Khan and is a senior leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party of Sharif, who now resides in London. The former premier was recently declared a fugitive for not returning home to face corruption charges.

Sharif fell from grace after the country's judiciary ousted him from office over corruption allegations in 2017.