Pakistan Gov't to Order Imran Khan's Arrest If His Bail Is Rejected, Interior Minister Warns

Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have warned about blocking roads and hitting the streets if he is arrested. Supporters of Khan's PTI party have converged at Khan’s Islamabad residence in a show of support, besides holding solidarity events across Pakistan this week.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has said that the government will be left with “no choice but to order the arrest” of former Prime Minister Imran Khan if his bail application is rejected by the anti-terrorism court.

"If the government decides, we will arrest Imran Khan," Rana Sanaullah Khan told Geo News during a television interview on Tuesday evening.

In another TV appearance, the interior minister reckoned that there was little chance of Imran Khan getting bail in the face of charges that have been slapped against the former prime minister.

“The chances of his acquittal are very low. The court issued him a show cause notice after carefully listening to Imran Khan’s remarks (at the rally in Islamabad on August 20). He has been found in contempt of court,” the minister remarked.

Imran Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act on Sunday for threatening “top police officials and a respected female additional sessions judge” during a speech delivered at a rally in Islamabad on August 20, as per a First Information Report (FIR).

The Islamabad rally was called to demonstrate solidarity with Imran Khan’s close associate Dr. Shehbaz Gill, who was arrested on August 9 on charges of “inciting rebellion” in the Army.

The PTI has rejected the “politically motivated” charges.

Gill has further claimed to have been tortured in police custody.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday also sent a show cause notice to Imran Khan, asking him to appear before it on August 31 for his remarks against Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

Chaudhry last week sanctioned a two-day physical remand of Gill.

During his speech on August 20, Imran Khan warned that he wouldn’t “spare” the judge for approving the remand.

He also claimed that the torture of Gill in custody was ordered by the country’s security establishment, comprising the Armed forces and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.

Pakistan’s media regulator banned the live broadcasting of PTI leader Khan’s speeches after the Islamabad event, saying that his “provocative statements against state institutions and officers” could “disturb public peace and tranquility.”

The Pakistani government, meanwhile, has claimed that Gill’s criticism of the Army wasn’t just an “individual act,” but more of a “campaign” backed by Imran Khan.

“PTI’s social media wing was also a part of the campaign,” the interior minister said on Tuesday.

Imran Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote in April before his government could complete its full term in office.

The former PM has alleged that the US instigated the parliamentary vote, and accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of being a “stooge” in a “foreign conspiracy.”