*ISLAMABAD – On arrival in Pakistan, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif andhis daughter Maryam are facing arrest in a case relating to the purchase ofhigh-end properties in London.*

We thought it would be interesting to look back at all the major politicalfigures in Pakistan who have spent time behind bars.

*Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 – 1988)*

Nationalist leader Ghaffar Khan was arrested in 1948 and jailed for sevenyears.

In 1956, he was arrested for protesting against the establishment of ‘OneUnit’ in West Pakistan. He was kept in prison by the Ayub Khan’s regimeuntil 1964.

*Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (1916 – 2003)*

Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was detained time and again for being very vocalagainst military rulers.

Zia-ul-Haq, who ruled for a decade, put Nawabzada under house arrest fornearly five years.

During Musharraf’s government, he headed that 16-party Alliance for theRestoration of Democracy (ARD). Nawabzada was briefly arrested forannouncing to hold a rally in Lahore.

*Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928 – 1979)*

PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was detained by military rulers for nearlytwo years, until his execution.

Bhutto was first detained by the then army chief General Yahya Khan in 1971for criticising his mishandling of Bangladesh situation.

Bhutto was imprisoned at the Adiala Jail (Rawalpindi) for several weeksuntil Yahya resigned and transferred powers to Bhutto.

In July 1977, Bhutto and his cabinet members were detained for a month whenGeneral Zia-ul-Haq staged a coup.

In the murder case of Ahmed Raza Kasuri (1974), Bhutto spent more than ayear and a half in jail until his execution on April 4, 1979 at CentralJail Rawalpindi.

*Begum Nusrat Bhutto (1929 – 2011)*

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s wife, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, become a symbol ofresistance to the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq after takingover as head of the PPP.

She was frequently put under house arrests and detentions during 1970s and1980s. The Zia regime did not allow her to attend her husband’s funeralafter he was executed.

*Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007)*

Benazir Bhutto has also been behind bars. In 1981, she was imprisoned inSukkur Jail under harsh conditions for six months. Later, she was shiftedto Karachi Central Jail where she remained imprisoned for the next sixmonths.

Benazir Bhutto was also placed under house arrest in Larkana for 11 months.

In 1985, Benazir was kept under house arrest in Karachi for four months,until her return to France.

While taking part in pro-democracy rallies during the Zia regime in 1986,Benazir was again detained for several weeks in Landhi Jail.

*Asif Ali Zardari*

Asif Zardari has spent 11 years in jail on charges ranging from corruptionto murder and money laundering.

He was first jailed from 1990 to 1993 and then from 1996 to 2004.

*Nawaz Sharif*

After Pervez Musharraf’s 1999 coup, Nawaz Sharif was convicted of treasonand sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court.

But at the request of the Saudi monarch King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, NawazSharif and Shehbaz Sharif were released from prison after a year and exiledto Saudi Arabia in December 2000.

They were kept in Attock, Landhi, and Adiala jails.

*Imran Khan*

After Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in Nov 2007, Imran Khan, the thenopposition politician, remained in week-long custody.

Khan was arrested after trying to take charge of a student protest inLahore against the state of emergency. He was detained in the Dera GhaziKhan jail.

He was demanding the reinstatement of supreme court judges fired byMusharraf.

*Javed Hashmi*

Senior politician Javed Hashmi was detained for about four years – from2003 to 2007 – after he was convicted on treason charges for criticizingthe army.

*Altaf Hussain*

MQM founder Altaf Hussain was arrested at least three times during hispolitical career since 1979.

He was sent to jail for nine months in 1979, four months in 1986 and fivemonths in 1987 in connection with different cases.