Police in Pakistan File Terrorism Charges Against Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan

Police in Pakistan have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, leading hundreds of his supporters to gather outside of his mansion in Islamabad to prevent him from being arrested. Pakistani police on Monday declined to confirm that the police had issued orders for Khan’s arrest. The police charges were filed after a speech Khan gave Saturday in Islamabad in which he said he would sue police officers and a female judge over the arrest of his close aide on charges of treason, and alleged that the aide had been tortured after his arrest earlier this month. “The purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty,” police said in the report, accusing Khan of threatening police officers and the judge, which it said is illegal under the country’s sedition act. Khan could face several years in prison if convicted. Anti-terrorism laws have frequently been used to build cases against Pakistan’s political opponents, including in the past by Khan’s government. Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party has warned that it will hold nationwide rallies if Khan is arrested. Khan was ousted as prime minister in April in a no-confidence vote in Parliament.  Khan has alleged that the Pakistani military took part in a US plot to oust him; he has not provided any evidence to support this allegation.