TAXILA: Former prime minister Imran Khan was taken to the district jail Attock on Saturday evening after his arrest from Zaman Park Lahore following his conviction in the Toshakhana case by a trial court in Islamabad.

The PTI chief was taken to the jail by road amid strict security. All roads leading to the jail were cordoned off by heavily-guarded personnel of law-enforcement agencies. As soon as the directive to Attock police was received, heavy reinforcement of police and Elite Force was made around the jail.

A jail official on condition of anonymity told Dawn that a VVIP cell had been prepared in the jail for Mr Khan. The cell has no air-conditioning facility but has a fan, bed and a washroom inside.

It may be mentioned that Imran Khan is the first former prime minister who has been locked up in the Attock jail.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was imprisoned in Attock Fort in 1999 before he was sent to Jeddah on a 10-year exile.

The Attock jail and fort are separate premises located at a distance of about 20 kilometres from each other.

The fort was built at Attock Khurd during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar in 1581-83 under the supervision of Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi to protect the passage of the river.

The fort is located on the bank of River Indus bordering the KP province. The entrance to the fort is from the Rawalpindi-Peshawar GT Road side.

On the other hand, the Attock jail is located in the heart of the city along the Rawalpindi-Peshawar railway track. It was constructed by the British rulers on 67 acres in 1905-06.

The British rulers used the prison to detain people mostly involved in mutiny. It is now considered a high security prison of the country where hardened under-trial prisoners are usually kept.

Former chief minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif was kept in the Attock jail in 1999 after he was sentenced by an accountability court in Attock Fort in the famous MI-8 helicopter kickback case.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz, former chief minister KP Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, ex-minister for communications Azam Khan and MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar also remained imprisoned in the jail.

Earlier this year, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was kept in the same jail.

Published in Dawn, Aug 6th, 2023