Abbas Sharif was arrested from the family home in Raiwind, outside the Punjab capital of Lahore.

The English daily The Nation quoting reliable sources said those arrested also included Sharif's father Mian Mohammad Sharif, son Hussain Nawaz, brother and former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, nephew Hamza Shahbaz and another family member.

The Nation did not say when the arrests were made.

The newspaper said the whereabouts of Shahbaz Sharif and Hussain Nawaz were not known, while the remaining family members were under house arrest since the October 12 coup.

Earlier the Sharif family reportedly repaid an estimated $ US 6 million but more was outstanding, although a figure was not immediately available.

The ex-premier, who is in jail inKarachi facing army allegations of treason and hijacking, also has been accused of corruption and of not repaying loans to banks in Pakistan.

Last week the National Accountability Bureau, headed by an army general, began arresting some of Pakistan's top businessmen and politicians on allegations of corruption or of being delinquent on bank loans.

Outstanding bank loans amount to an estimated Rs 211 billion.

The Sharif family's steel and sugar business is heavily indebted to banks and is jointly owned by the entire family.

When Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf threw out Sharif's elected government on October 12 in a bloodless coup, he promised to pursue the corrupt in Pakistan and recover illicit wealth. He also vowed to revive a deeply troubled economy.

An anti-corruption law was enacted last week to give the National Accountability Bureau sweeping powers of investigation and arrest.

The new law also provides for a 21-year ban from politics for anyone found guilty of corruption or defaultingon loans as well as a possible 14 years in jail.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who has been declared a ``proclaimed offender'', has been critical of the new law.

Bhutto has been living in Britain since she was found guilty of corruption during Sharif's abbreviated term in office and sentenced to five years in jail.

She also is wanted for alleged corruption by the new army-led government but Bhutto has said that she will not be returning to Pakistan in the near future.