Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan Booked Under Anti-Terrorism Act; Likely To be Arrested

Islamabad: An FIR was filed against former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman was booked for threatening a judge and two top police officials at a public meeting in Islamabad.

Imran has been charged under Section 7 of ATA for challenging judicial and law enforcement authorities.

On Saturday, Imran threatened to file cases against top police officials, a woman magistrate, the election commission of Pakistan and political opponents over the treatment meted out to his aide Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested last week on charges of sedition.

There is speculation that Imran will be arrested in the next couple of days.

Pakistan’s Interior minister Rana Sanaullah alleged that the speech by Imran was the continuation of a trend to target Army and other institutions.

“This is all happening in continuation — from a campaign after Lasbela incident when six army officers were killed followed by Gill’s attempt to incite army ranks to go against their top command and then Imran threatening a woman judge and police officials for performing their duties as per the law,” the minister said.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) banned satellite television channels from broadcasting live speeches of the ousted PM hours after he threatened state institutions and made provocative statements while addressing the rally.

Pakistan’s electronic media watchdog said that Imran’s recorded speech would be permitted to be aired after a delay to ensure effective monitoring and editorial control.