No sign of mass protests after Imran Khan's jailing
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's three-year sentence for graft prompted scattered rallies around the country, but there was no sign of any mass uprising on Sunday despite his call for supporters to protest. His imprisonment has raised fresh concerns of violence ahead of an election due later this year – that he is now disqualified from contesting – and has cast doubt on the fairness of any vote that excludes him. His lawyers complained on Sunday they were being denied access to him for consultations so they can mount urgent legal challenges against his conviction. They also raised concern for his confinement at Attock Jail, established 100 years ago on the outskirts of historical Attock city, around 60 kilometres west of the capital, Islamabad. "He is a 70-year-old man and a former elected prime minister so legally he should be given a better class (of conditions) inside the jail," said Gohar Khan, a member of his legal team. Officials from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said around 50 supporters had been detained overnight as police moved swiftly against protests after Khan was arrested and whisked to jail. At a court hearing Khan did not attend on Saturday, a judge found him guilty of graft in relation to gifts he received while prime minister and sentenced him to three years in jail. Anyone convicted of a criminal offence is disqualified from contesting elections in Pakistan, and government spokeswoman Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that parliament would likely be dissolved on Wednesday – days ahead of the end of its natural term. "Three days of our government are left... the Election Commission has already started its preparations," said Aurangzeb. This would give the incoming interim government until mid-November to hold an election, but there is already speculation it could be delayed following the release on Saturday of the country's latest census data. Law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a local television channel that constituencies would have to be redrawn according to the new census, warning there could be a delay to polls of up to two and a half months. Khan's arrest and detention for three days in connection with the same case in May sparked deadly violence when his supporters took to the streets in the tens of thousands, clashing with police. (AFP)