Pakistan's Khan to face fresh charges in August
2 Min Read
Imran Khan currently faces more than 170 court cases ranging from corruption to murder and violence since he was removed from power in April of last year.
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Imran Khan is escorted by security officials in a court in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, May 12, 2023. (AP)
Pakistan's electoral commission announced Tuesday that it will prosecute former Prime Minister Imran Khan next week on accusations of openly insulting its officials last year.
Khan and his counsel appeared before a special tribunal of Pakistan's Election Commission in Islamabad, and after a brief session, one of his attorneys, Shoaib Shaheen, stated that the tribunal decided to charge the former premier with contempt on Aug. 2.
Khan is accused of referring to the chairman of the electoral commission, Sikandar Sultan Rajaa, and other of its employees as "personal servants" of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on multiple gatherings. Sharif took over in April 2022 after Khan was deposed in a no-confidence motion in parliament.
Yesterday, in the latest in a string of legal challenges facing former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's electoral commission issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for him, according to a report on Monday by Geo News.
Khan, 70, faces more than 170 court cases ranging from corruption to murder and inciting violence since he was removed from power in April of last year.
Khan's supporters were enraged after his arrest in a corruption case in May, and protested for several days. The bloody violence that ensued amid the police crackdown did not subside until after Khan was released by order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Since then, many more courts have granted Khan protection from arrest in a variety of circumstances.
On Tuesday, Khan appeared before the country's Federal Investigation Agency to face allegations of leaking a confidential document. Sharif's administration said this week that it will punish Khan for "exposing an official secret document" last year when he displayed a sensitive diplomatic letter at a rally, saying it was "proof" that he was threatened.
The paper, called Cypher, was purportedly a diplomatic exchange between a Pakistani ambassador in Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
