Pakistan opposition leader Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of convicted ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while visiting her father in prison.

A spokesman for Nawaz’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML) told Reuters that the politician had been detained in Lahore, but that the authorities have yet to explain the grounds of her arrest.

Nawaz was asked to appear on Thursday before the NAB to answer questions regarding a corruption probe. Her family is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the government project. According to local reports, she ignored the request and was arrested while visiting her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in jail. Sharif is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for corruption. Nawaz herself was also convicted in a related corruption case, but her sentence was suspended.

Her arrest was sharply criticized by opposition figures.

Senator Sherry Rehman, parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), argued that Nawaz’s detention risks “disastrous polarisation” at home as the conflict with India over Kashmir continues to escalate.

Arresting opposition leaders is not the path to building a consensus in Pakistan as it stands at a dangerous crossroads with India. Disastrous polarisation at home augurs poorly for supporting Kashmir in its hour of terrible need. https://t.co/VIhnJORBkL — SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) August 8, 2019

Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, tweeted that Prime Minister Imran Khan and his “fascist, incompetent government” had targeted Nawaz as part of a “witch hunt” against the opposition.

Imran & his fascist incompetent government still witch hunting opposition and sleeping over Kashmir. Pathetic. #Priorities#GoSelectionGo — Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) August 8, 2019

In recent days, Nawaz had been involved in anti-government protests. Last month, she took part in nationwide rallies against Khan’s administration.

Her PML party has also led a series of public protests, alleging that Khan benefited from widespread vote-rigging in the 2018 election.

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