Pakistan arrests ruling party member on corruption charges

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan’s anti-corruption body says it has arrested a member of the ruling party who is a senior minister in the eastern Punjab province.

The National Accountability Bureau announced the arrest Wednesday of the minister for local bodies, Abdul Aleem Khan, in the city of Lahore. It says he was arrested over charges of “possessing assets beyond his known sources.”

Khan resigned his post, vowing to fight the charges and denying any wrongdoing.

The arrest is a setback for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which came to power in last year’s parliamentary elections. The two men are not related.

Khan had campaigned on promises of clean governance after his predecessor, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was removed from office over corruption allegations. Sharif has also denied any wrongdoing.