Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, authorities said Monday, escalating political tensions in the country as the ousted prime minister holds mass rallies demanding his return to office.
The charges followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad on Saturday in which he vowed to sue police officers and a female judge and alleged that a close aide had been tortured after his arrest.
Khan himself has not spoken publicly about the latest allegations against him. However, an Islamabad court issued a so-called “protective bail bond” for Khan for the next three days, preventing police from arresting him on the charges, said Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior leader in his opposition party. Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Hundreds of Tehreek-e-Insaf members stood outside Khan’s house on Monday in a show of support while the former prime minister held meetings inside. The party has warned it will hold nationwide rallies if Khan is arrested as it works to quash the charges in court.
“We will take Islamabad and my message to the police is … don’t be part of this political war anymore,” warned Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, a former minister under Khan.
Under Pakistan’s legal system, police submit what is known as a first information report about charges against an accused person to a magistrate judge, who allows the investigation to move forward. Typically, the police then arrest and question the accused.
The report against Khan includes testimony from Magistrate Judge Ali Javed, who described being at the Islamabad rally on Saturday and hearing Khan criticize Pakistan’s inspector general of police and another judge. Khan went on to say that he said: “Get ready for this, we will also take action against you. All of you should be ashamed.”
Khan could face several years in prison on the new charges, which accuse him of threatening police officers and a judge under Pakistan’s 1997 anti-terror law, which gave police broader powers amid the violence. sectarian in the country. However, 25 years later, critics say the law helps security forces circumvent constitutional protections for defendants, while governments have also used it for political purposes.
Khan has not been arrested on other lesser charges leveled against him in his latest campaign against the government.
Pakistan’s judiciary also has a history of politicization and taking sides in power struggles between the military, civilian government and opposition politicians, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House. Incumbent Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is likely to discuss the allegations against Khan in a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Khan came to power in 2018, promising to break the pattern of family rule in Pakistan. His opponents claim he was elected with the help of the powerful military, which has ruled the country for half of its 75-year history.
In seeking Khan’s ouster earlier this year, the opposition had accused him of economic mismanagement as inflation rises and the Pakistani rupee depreciates. The no-confidence vote in parliament in April that ousted Khan capped months of political turmoil and a constitutional crisis that required the Supreme Court to intervene. Meanwhile, it appeared that the military had similarly cooled on Khan.
Khan claimed without providing evidence that the Pakistani military participated in a US plot to overthrow him. Washington, the Pakistani military and Sharif’s government have all denied the allegations. Meanwhile, Khan has held a series of mass rallies trying to put pressure on the government.
In his latest speech on Sunday night at a rally in the city of Rawalpindi outside Islamabad, Khan said so-called “neutrals” were behind the latest blow against his party. He has used the expression “neutral” for the army in the past.
“A plan has been made to put our party against the wall. I assure you the situation in Sri Lanka will happen here,” Khan threatened, referring to recent economic protests that brought down the island nation’s government.
“Now we are following the law and the constitution. But when a political party leaves that path, the situation inside Pakistan, who will stop the public? There are 220 million people.”
Khan’s party has held mass protests, but Pakistan’s government and security forces fear the former cricket star’s popularity could still draw millions into the streets. That could put further pressure on the nuclear-armed nation as it tries to secure a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund amid an economic crisis exacerbated by rising global food prices, partly due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On Sunday, internet access advocacy group NetBlocks said internet services in the country blocked access to YouTube after Khan streamed the speech on the platform, despite a ban issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.
Police arrested Khan’s political aide Shahbaz Gill earlier this month after he appeared on private television channel ARY TV and asked soldiers and officers to refuse to obey “illegal orders” from the military leadership. Gill was charged with treason, which is punishable by death under Pakistan’s sedition act, which derives from colonial-era British law. ARY also remains off air in Pakistan after that broadcast.
Khan has alleged that police abused Gill while he was in custody. Police say Gill suffers from asthma and was not abused during the detention.
Gill was released from hospital to attend a court hearing on Monday. He appeared healthy on television as he headed to court amid tight security. The court then ordered that he be returned to police custody for two days of questioning, Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said. He is likely to appear in court again on Thursday.
Khan’s speech on Saturday in Islamabad focused mainly on Gill’s arrest.
Meanwhile, police separately arrested journalist Jameel Farooqi in Karachi over his claims that Gill was tortured by the police. Farooqi is a vocal supporter of Khan.
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By MUNIR AHMEDI
