The Pakistani police have charged Imran Khan under anti-terror law, authorities said on Monday, days after the former prime minister attacked the police and a judicial officer at a huge rally in the capital, Islamabad.
The police case comes a day after the country’s top media regulatory body imposed a ban on Khan’s speeches for “spreading hate speech” against “state institutions and officers”, escalating political tensions in the country.
He has been holding mass rallies across the country seeking to return to office since he was removed from power in April in a no-confidence motion. The cricketer-turned-politician has alleged his removal was a result of a “foreign conspiracy”.
In his speech on Saturday, Khan promised to sue police officers and a female judge as he alleged that a close aide had been tortured after his arrest.
He doubled down on his criticism of state institutions at another rally on Sunday, saying the police acted under pressure from “neutrals”, a common euphemism for Pakistan’s military establishment.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
