Police file terrorism charges against Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD (AP):

Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the authorities said on Monday, escalating political tensions in the country as the ousted premier holds mass rallies seeking to 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 publicly spoken about the latest charges against him. However, a court in Islamabad issued a so-called ‘protective bail’ for Khan for the next three days, preventing police from arresting him over the charges, said Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior leader in his Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party.

Hundreds of Tehreek-e-Insaf members stood outside Khan’s home on Monday in a show of support as the former premier held meetings inside. The party has warned that it will hold nationwide rallies if Khan is arrested while working to try to squash the charges in court.

“We will take over Islamabad and my message to 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 file 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, 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 criticise the inspector general of Pakistan’s police and another judge. Khan went on to reportedly say: “You also get ready for it, we will also take action against you. All of you must be ashamed.”

Khan could face several years in prison from the new charges, which accuse him of threatening police officers and the judge under Pakistan’s 1997 antiterrorism law that granted the police wider powers amid sectarian violence in the country.

However, 25 years later, critics say the law helps security forces skirt constitutional protections for defendants, while governments also used it for political purposes. Other former Pakistani politicians, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President General Pervez Musharraf, also have been targeted in probes using the law.

Khan has not been detained on other lesser charges levied against him in his recent campaigning against the government.

Also on Monday, a court in Islamabad ruled that contempt proceedings would begin on Tuesday against Khan for threatening a judge, according to court officials. Usually, Pakistani courts pardon people if they apologise, although some politicians have also been convicted in the past for insulting judges.