ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, authorities said Monday, raising political tensions in the country as the ousted prime minister stages mass demonstrations to return to office.
The charges came after 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 charges against him. However, an Islamabad court issued so-called “protective bail” for Khan for the next three days, preventing police from arresting him on the charges, said Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior leader of his party. opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Hundreds of Tehreek-e-Insaf members stood outside Khan’s house on Monday in a show of support as the former prime minister held meetings inside. The party has warned it will hold rallies across the country if Khan is arrested as he works to try to crush the charges in court.
Under Pakistan’s legal system, the police submit what is known as a first information report about the charges against an accused to a magistrate judge, which allows the investigation to move forward. The police usually arrest and question the accused.
The report against Khan includes testimony from Magistrate Judge Ali Javed, who described being at the rally in Islamabad on Saturday and hearing Khan criticize the Inspector General of Police of Pakistan and another judge. Khan went on to say, “Also get ready, we will take action against you too. You all should be ashamed.”
Khan could face several years in prison on the new charges, which accuse him of threatening police officers and the judge under the country’s sedition law, which derives from British colonial-era law. However, he has not been arrested on other minor charges brought against him in his recent campaign against the government.
Pakistan’s judiciary also has a history of politicization and taking sides in power struggles between the military, the civilian government and opposition politicians, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House. Current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is likely to discuss the charges 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.
Seeking Khan’s removal earlier this year, the opposition had accused him of economic mismanagement as inflation rises and the value of the Pakistani rupee plummets. Parliament’s no-confidence vote in April that ousted Khan ended months of political turmoil and a constitutional crisis that forced the Supreme Court to intervene.
Khan alleged without providing evidence that the Pakistani military was involved in a US plot to oust him. Washington, Pakistan’s military and Sharif’s government have denied the accusation. Meanwhile, Khan has held a series of mass rallies to try to pressure 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 recent crackdown on his party. In the past he has used the phrase “neutrals” for the military.
“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 the recent economic protests that toppled the government of the island nation.
“Now we follow the law and the constitution. But when a political party deviates from this path, from 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 struggles to secure a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund amid an economic crisis, exacerbated by rising global food prices due in part to the war Russia vs Ukraine.
On Sunday, internet access advocacy group NetBlocks said the country’s internet services blocked access to YouTube after Khan aired the speech on the platform despite a ban issued by the Media Regulatory Authority electronics of pakistan.
Police arrested Khan’s political aide Shahbaz Gill earlier this month after he appeared on private television channel ARY TV and urged soldiers and officers to refuse to obey “illegal orders ” of the military leadership. Gill was charged with treason, which under Pakistani law carries the death penalty. ARY also remains off air in Pakistan after this broadcast.
Khan has alleged that the police abused Gill while he was in custody. Police say Gill suffers from asthma and was not abused while in custody.
Gill was released from a hospital on Monday to attend a court hearing on whether he should return to prison. Gill appeared unharmed in television footage as he left the court amid tight security
Khan’s speech in Islamabad on Saturday focused mainly on Gill’s arrest.
Meanwhile, police separately arrested journalist Jameel Farooqi in Karachi over his allegations that Gill had been tortured by the police. Farooqi is a vocal supporter of Khan.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.