Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan charged under anti-terror law
A video taken on Sunday evening shows that police surrounded Imran Khan’s residence hours after a police report was filed against the former Prime Minister.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been charged with violating anti-terrorism laws after allegedly threatening a female judge and two senior police officials at a rally in Islamabad on Saturday night.
A video taken at Imran Khan’s residence on Sunday evening shows that police surrounded his residence hours after a police report was filed against him.
The report against Khan includes testimony from magistrate judge Ali Javed, who described being at the Islamabad rally and hearing Khan criticize the inspector-general of Pakistan’s police and another judge.
During his speech at Saturday's rally, Khan threatened to file his own charges against Judge Zeba Chaudhry, two police agencies, the Pakistani Election Commission, and other political opponents, warning that they would face "consequences" for their treatment of his Chief of Staff, Shahbaz Gill.
He had organized the rally in Islamabad's F-9 Park in support of Gill, who was arrested on sedition charges last week.
Later that night, the country's digital media watchdog, PEMRA, barred satellite stations from airing the speech – or any upcoming live addresses from Khan – unless a time-delay mechanism was in place "to ensure effective monitoring and editorial control."
Earlier this month, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordered the suspension of the transmission of ARY News in different parts of the country, ARY News reported.
The channel was suspended for allegedly airing "hateful, seditious and malicious content," according to PEMRA.
A PEMRA official confirmed the authenticity of the notice, which directed the channel's CEO to appear for a hearing.
The suspension came hours after the news channel reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had launched a systematic campaign against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and chairman Imran Khan on the recent deaths of Pakistan Army personnel in the Balochistan chopper crash.
Khan was Prime Minister from 2018 until April of this year when he was forced to step down after losing a confidence vote that he said was the result of a conspiracy by the US, which denies the charge.
#ShehbazSharif, #ImranKhan's successor, has a remarkable history of corruption along with his family.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 11, 2022
Does Sharif's election confirm the ex-PM's claims of #US meddling in #Pakistan's internal affairs? pic.twitter.com/W7TeR4nVCQ
Shehbaz Sharif was elected as Pakistan's new Prime Minister on April 11, 2022, the leader of the centrist PML-N, and was the only candidate after Khan loyalist and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi withdrew his candidacy and resigned his seat.