Former Prime Minister of Pakistan was charged under Anti-terrorism laws over comments he made in a speech at the weekend, however, hundreds of his supporters gathered outside his home in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, denouncing what they called an effort by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to silence his main political rival.
At a weekend rally, Khan said that his supporters “won’t spare” the officials responsible for detaining Shahbaz Gill, one of his allies, this month.
Khan singled out senior Islamabad police officials and a female judge who earlier in the week approved detaining Gill for two days. Gill faces sedition charges after he was accused of inciting mutiny against the country’s powerful military.
Khan accused police of torturing Gill in custody and said the charges against his ally were part of “a conspiracy” to pit his party against the military. Police have denied the torture allegations.
The police alleged that Khan “terrorised” the officials, while Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb accused the former prime minister of “inciting the people to violence, lawlessness, rebellion and riot”.
Khan’s lawyers said they would challenge the charges through court and appealed for pre-arrest bail on Monday at the Islamabad High Court, which granted Khan protective bail until Thursday, when he is likely to appear before an anti-terrorism court in the capital.
“The terrorism-related charges against Imran Khan are completely biased,” said Iftikhar Durrani, a senior leader from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. “We are going to court to contest these charges.”
Khan was ousted as prime minister in April in a no-confidence vote when his alliance withdrew their support, bringing a coalition led by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) into power.
But the former cricketer’s popularity has surged since his defenestration. He has toured the country trying to force early elections, alleging without evidence that his removal was the result of a US-backed conspiracy in retaliation for his warm relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
During the initial days of Russia-Ukraine war, when Imran Khan was the Prime Minister of Pakistan met Russian President Putin and gave speeches that he wont bow down on the western orders.
Khan has also tapped public frustration with Pakistan’s dire economic situation, despite many of the problems starting while he was in office.
The country has suffered double-digit inflation, power blackouts due to energy shortages and is at risk of default on its overseas debt as foreign currency reserves dwindle.