Tariq Butt, Correspondent

A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of selling state gifts (Toshakhana case) during his four years in power, a day after his arrest in an unrelated fraud case sparked unrest that killed at least five people.

Separately, an accountability court of Islamabad granted an eight-day physical remand of Imran Khan to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case.

Imran's indictment followed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan in October, which found him guilty of illegally selling state gifts between 2018 and 2022 and barred him from holding public office until the next election due in November. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of the case at the New Police Guest House in the Police Lines of Islamabad, where the NAB presented the reasons behind Imran Khan’s arrest, and sought his 14-day physical remand.

However, Imran's legal team opposed the NAB's request. His lawyer Khawaja Harris maintained that the PTI chief will cooperate in the investigation and that there was "no need for a physical remand."

NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, Special Prosecutor Rafi Maqsood, NAB investigation officer Mian Umar Nadeem and NAB Prosecutor Sardar Zulqarnain were present at the hearing.

The PTI chief was represented by Khawaja Harris, Barrister Ali Gohar and Advocate Ali Bukhari. The NAB prosecutor told the accountability court that the arrest warrant was shown to Imran Khan at the time of his arrest. However, the PTI chief said that he was shown the warrant when he reached the NAB office.

The prosecutor said that "this is a case of corruption which was investigated by the National Crime Agency (NAC) of the UK.” "The money in this case was to be transferred to the government of Pakistan,” he added.

Haris argued that Imran was illegally arrested. "Proper method was not adopted to arrest him. The NAB sent a notice, but when did it convert the complaint into a reference?” he questioned.

The lawyer said that "Imran Khan is also being dragged in many other cases,” adding that "my client will join the investigation and cooperate in it.” The court later reserved its verdict that it later announced.

It was the same judge, who had conducted nearly 150 hearings while trying former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and had finally convicted him.

Imran tells court 'fearful for his life'

Imran Khan told the judge that he was fearful for his life. "I have not been to the washroom in 24 hours," he said and requested the court to grant his personal physician Dr Faisal Sultan access to him.

"I am afraid I will meet the same fate as Maqsood Chaprasi," Imran said in reference to an alleged key witness in Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's money laundering case who passed away due to a cardiac arrest last year. The PTI had termed the witness' death 'mysterious.' "They give you an injection, and you slowly die.”

In a notification dated May 9, the government announced that Imran Khan’s court hearings location has been changed.

Amid strict security measures, three of Imran Khan's lawyers, namely, Khawaja Haris, Ali Bukhari and Barrister Gohar were allowed to enter the police lines headquarters. Notably, the PTI had provided a list of 20 lawyers, only three of which have been permitted to enter the premises.