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Kabul: The Pakistan police have accused Imran Khan, the former prime minister of this country, of violating anti-terrorism laws.
Imran Khan is being investigated by the police after he accused the police and the judiciary of arresting and torturing one of his close aides.
This has raised tensions in Pakistan, and supporters of the former prime minister have gathered outside his house and say they will “take over” if he is arrested.
Since being ousted from power in April, Mr. Khan has become an outspoken critic of the government and the military.
The police announced the new charges against Mr. Khan after he accused authorities of torturing his close aide, who was arrested on charges of sedition.
In a public speech on Saturday, Mr. Khan condemned Islamabad’s police chief and a female judge for arresting and mistreating his party colleague.
In this speech, referring directly to these two people, he said: “You should also be ready, because we will take action against you.”
After this speech, authorities accused Mr. Khan of violating the country’s anti-terrorism law by threatening government officials.
Hundreds of the former prime minister’s supporters rallied outside his home in Islamabad after news broke of an investigation into Mr Khan, vowing to “take over” the capital if the police tried to arrest him.
The police forces who were present at the place announced that they did not go there to arrest the former prime minister and that their goal was to maintain law and order.
The opening of this case for Mr. Khan is the highest tension between the current government of Pakistan and the former prime minister since he was removed from power by a vote of no confidence in the parliament.
Since his removal, Mr. Khan has called for new elections by delivering a series of fiery speeches and strongly criticizing the government and the army.
On Saturday, Pakistan’s Media Regulatory Authority banned television channels from broadcasting the prime minister’s speeches live, accusing Mr. Khan of spreading hatred against government institutions.
The former leader of Pakistan claims that the government is trying to censor him. He criticized the ban at another political rally in Rawalpindi city on Sunday.
Mr Khan then accused the government of blocking access to YouTube in the middle of his speech to prevent the public from viewing it live.
Although Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote earlier this year, he is still counting on the support of many Pakistani voters to return to power.
Last month, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, founded by Mr. Khan, managed to defeat its rivals and take control of an important provincial assembly in Punjab, surprising everyone and defeating the conservative Pakistan Muslim League.
Many considered this victory of Mr. Khan’s party to be a sign of his popularity in the elections and predicted that he would win if early elections were held.
Mr Khan, a former cricketer, was elected Pakistan’s prime minister in 2018, but fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military towards the end of his tenure.
Finally, after a series of separations from his party, he lost his majority in the parliament and was removed from power by a vote of no confidence.
