Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan charged under Anti-Terrorism Act over provocative speech

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act. He has been booked for threatening a judge and two top officials while addressing a rally in Islamabad. The case surfaced hours after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said, the government is mulling filing a case against Imran Khan over his provocative speech delivered on Saturday night in Pakistan’s capital.

Khan on Saturday rallied his supporters in Islamabad against the arrest and alleged torture of his chief of staff, Dr Shahbaz Gill, in police custody. The Islamabad police and the government have denied the allegations. Islamabad police lodged a case against Khan under section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act yesterday after a duty magistrate filed a complaint over his comments at the rally. The development comes a day after Pakistan’s media regulator imposed a ban on live broadcast of Khan’s speeches, saying he was spreading ‘hate speech’ following his comments at the rally.