Hundreds of supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan rallied outside his home in the capital Islamabad today, vowing to prevent his arrest on charges brought against him under anti-terrorism laws, party officials said.
His supporters rallied outside the former prime minister’s mansion after police on Saturday filed terrorism charges against him for making threats against government officials in a public speech he gave alleging police torture of one of his advisers, who he faces charges of standing and inciting mutiny in the ranks of the country’s powerful military.
Protesters chanted slogans against the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who took office after Khan was ousted by impeachment in April.
“If Imran Khan is arrested (…) we will occupy Islamabad,” former minister in Khan’s government, Ali Amin Gadapour, threatened in a tweet, as his party leaders called on supporters to prepare for mass mobilization .
Another former minister in the Khan government, Murad Saeed, told Pakistani television networks that police had issued a warrant for the former prime minister’s arrest.
However, the Islamabad police refused to confirm this.
The former prime minister’s adviser, Fawad Sodri, also told reporters outside a court in the Pakistani capital that the party had applied to set bail for Imran Khan before any arrest.
The use of anti-terror legislation as a basis for prosecuting political leaders is not unusual in Pakistan, where Khan’s government has also used it against opponents and critics.
Police on Saturday cited in their report, accessed by Reuters, comments by Khan in which they said he would “not feel sorry” for the Islamabad police chief and a judge for arresting his adviser.
“The aim of the speech was to intimidate the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty,” the police said in their report.
Legal experts say that public threats put the lives of officials at risk and actually amount to a threat to the state, and thus fall under counter-terrorism laws.
The military has also been targeted by Khan, who has said it did not help him prevent a US plot that led to his ouster. Washington has denied the accusation.
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than three decades of its 75-year history, rejected Khan’s accusation. He also denies involvement in politics.
Pakistan’s electronic media regulator banned the live broadcast of Khan’s speeches, calling them inflammatory.
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Capital
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