ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was charged under the country’s counterterrorism act on Sunday, in a drastic escalation of a tense power struggle between the country’s current government. The country and its former leader threaten to trigger a new round of public unrest and turmoil.
The allegations come a day after Mr Khan, a former cricket star, was ousted from power a vote of no confidence in April, gave a heated speech to hundreds of supporters at a rally in the capital Islamabad, condemning the recent arrest of one of his top aides and threatening officers. Senior police officer and a judge are involved in the case.
“We will not spare you,” Mr Khan said, vowing to file legal cases against them.
The police report details the charges against the former prime minister saying his comments were a willful and illegal attempt to intimidate the country’s police and judicial forces, news agencies said. local news.
Khan has yet to be arrested and is in Islamabad, according to Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader of his Pakistani political party Tehreek-e-Insaf. Mr Khan has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
Mr Khan was forced out of office in April, but since then he has proven himself to remain a powerful force in Pakistani politics.
In recent months, the charismatic populist leader has drawn tens of thousands of people to his rallies around the country, and his party has successfully grafted that influence on. in the election. In July, it won a sweeping victory in local elections in the most populous province, Punjab, and this month, it also scored well in the polls in the economic center of the country, Karachi.
“Imran Khan is clearly an order of magnitude stronger than Adil Najam, dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and an expert on Pakistani politics.
However, as Mr Khan battles to return to politics, he and his supporters face a growing crackdown aimed at limiting his party’s electoral success, analysts say.
Pakistan’s media regulator has imposed a ban on live broadcasting of his speeches on news TV channels. Several journalists and talk show hosts, who sympathize with Mr Khan, say they have been harassed and threatened by state authorities in recent weeks.
And a senior assistant to Mr. Khan, Shahbaz Gill, was earlier this month, accused of making anti-military comments on a television talk show. The call on military officers to defy orders from the top was an attempt to incite rebellion within the ranks, officials said.
The popular cable channel to which Mr Gill made the comments, ARY News, was later forced to stop broadcasting.
Mr Khan and his party leaders say Mr Gill was tortured and sexually abused while in custody, charges that senior government ministers and Islamabad police officials deny.
“I can confirm as Interior Minister that no torture was carried out on Gill while in police custody,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said at a news conference. on Sunday.
Pakistan, the nuclear-armed country with the world’s second-largest Muslim population, has struggled with political instability and military coups since its founding 75 years ago. Even under civilian governments, the military establishment is seen as the country’s main power broker and wields considerable influence over electoral politics.
The current crackdown on Mr Khan is a significant change of fortune for him.
When Mr. Khan was elected prime minister In 2018, many of his opponents attributed the victory to a bedroom deal he signed with the country’s military. His political opponents describe what security forces are doing a campaign of coercion and intimidation that staved off opposition to Mr Khan and narrowed the electoral field, ensuring his success. Military officials have denied those allegations.
Earlier this year, after Pakistan’s military leaders appeared to withdraw support for Mr Khan and loosened their grip on his political opposition, he was ousted in a coup. vote of no confidence in Parliament.
In the months since, Khan has demanded new elections and accused the US and Pakistani militaries of orchestrating a plot to overthrow his government. In a speech on Sunday in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital, Mr Khan reiterated his attacks on the army over its role.
“Are you really neutral or not?” he asks.
Many fear that if Mr Khan is now arrested, it could plunge the country into a new round of public unrest and violent street protests.
As news of his possible arrest spread, workers and supporters of his party gathered at Mr Khan’s palatial residence on the outskirts of the capital and chanted anti-government slogans. government.
“Hundreds of people are gathering at Mr Khan’s residence and thousands of people from other places have come here to show their support for their leader,” said Mr Chaudhry, senior leader of Mr Khan’s party. surname. “The police have now withdrawn after looking at the large number of people here. Let’s see what happens next.”
Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Christina Goldbaum from New York.
