Pakistan opposition leader arrested on corruption charges

Pakistan opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif was arrested Friday on corruption charges, officials said, in the latest clampdown of the Sharif political dynasty who have been linked to numerous corruption allegations.

Sharif, the brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested on charges of corruption relating to a low-cost housing scheme in Punjab province.

Shahzad Saleem - the head of a regional anti-corruption body - did not say when Shahbaz Sharif, who is the former chief minister of Punjab, is due to appear in court.

"We are assessing the situation and consulting party leadership to prepare a strategy for a future course of action," Malik Ahmed Khan, spokesman from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party told AFP.

An anti-corruption court in July sentenced Nawaz Sharif in absentia to 10 years over properties his family allegedly owned in the UK, following revelations in the Panama Papers. 

He was released from prison last month after a court suspended his sentence pending an appeal.

Nawaz - who was ousted from office last year by the Supreme Court following a graft investigation - was arrested on his return to Pakistan in July from London to campaign in elections, which he was barred from contesting. 

He claims he is being targeted by the country's powerful security establishment. 

The PML-N party lost the election on 25 July to the rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by former cricket  legend Imran Khan.

Nawaz claims he is being targeted by the country's powerful security establishment, and his brother Shahbaz, who led the PML-N into the 25 July election, has echoed the allegations.