Islamabad Court Drops Terror Charges Against Pakistan’s Former PM Imran Khan

In a tit-for-tat move, terror charges have been registered against PML-N federal ministers for inciting violence and religious hatred against the former PM.

The Islamabad High Court ordered authorities to dismiss a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act against opposition leader and ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday over "threatening" remarks he reportedly made against a female judge and police officials during a public rally, local media report.

Khan's lawyer earlier pleaded for dismissing the terror case, explaining that an anti-terrorism decree cannot be lodged against a person "on the possibility of creation of an [atmosphere of fear and terror]" among the public, as police had claimed.

"Terrorism provisions have been misused, that's why the Supreme Court interpreted it. You could not provide any evidence to prove the crime of terrorism against Imran Khan," Chief Justice Athar Minallah said.

"Prima facie, not a single section included in the case is applicable [to Imran Khan's speech]," the court observed.

PTI head Khan made the controversial remarks on August 20 as he addressed a massive public rally against the arrest of his aide Shehbaz Gill in a treason case, warning the police and a female magistrate of severe consequences if he returns to power.

The cricketer-turned-politician was ousted from power in April through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

Meanwhile, police of PTI-governed Punjab have lodged a terrorism case against federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Javed Latif, a senior politician of the governing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, for allegedly "using religion to instill and spread hatred" against Imran Khan.

Punjab Home Minister Col (retd) Muhammad Hashim shared the copy of the registered case on his Twitter handle.

The complainant, an imam of a local mosque in Lahore, said that Latif had accused Khan of "attacking the basic principles of Islam" by "supporting" the Ahmediyya community of the country during his tenure.

"In his press conference on September 14, Latif declared Imran as non-Muslim, and he deliberately used these words to incite his followers and create a law-and-order situation," the complaint said.

The imam alleged that Latif made the remarks against Khan, whom he considers an "ardent follower of Islam," at the behest of federal information minister Aurangzeb.