Pakistan police charge ex-Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN under terrorism act

 

Monday, August 22, 2022 – Pakistan’s police have charged the country’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, accusing him of inciting terrorist acts.

Since being ousted from power in April, Khan has been a vocal critic of the government and the country’s powerful army.

In a public speech on Saturday, August 20, Khan condemned Islamabad’s police chief and a female judge for the detention and alleged mistreatment of his party colleague, Shahbaz Gill.

He accused authorities of torturing his close aide, who is also being detained under sedition charges.

“You should also get ready as we will take action against you,” he said in the speech, referring to the female judge and the police chief directly.

Now the Police have announced charges against Khan accusing him of breaching the country’s anti-terrorism act for allegedly making threats against the government officials.

Hundreds of the Khan’s supporters gathered outside his home in Islamabad after news of the investigation broke on Sunday, August 21, vowing to “take over” the capital if police tried to detain him.

According to Reuters, police who were present at the scene said they were not there to arrest the former leader, but to maintain law and order.

The case comes as tension continues to escalate between Pakistan’s current government and Khan, who was ousted from power in April in a no-confidence vote.

The charismatic politician was elected prime minister in 2018, but fell out with Pakistan’s powerful army towards the end of his tenure. After a series of defections, he lost his majority in parliament.

Since his removal from office, Khan has toured the country to deliver a series of fiery speeches calling for fresh elections and heavily criticizing  the government and the army.

On Saturday, Pakistan’s media regulator announced that television channels would be banned from broadcasting his speeches live, accusing Khan of hate speech against state institutions.

Khan claims the government is trying to censor him and he criticised the ban at another political rally in the city of Rawalpindi.

“What crime has Imran Khan committed? I will never accept this gang of thieves,” he told his supporters.

Pakistan's media watchdog bans live telecasts of former PM Imran Khan's speeches pic.twitter.com/S1u1pdhG9P

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 21, 2022