https://arab.news/y9edz
- Khan has been named in case relating to alleged violence by his supporters during a rally in September
- Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, says all cases against him are politically motivated
ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi police said on Thursday they had filed fresh charges against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan related to violence at a party rally in September, a day after a court granted the ex-premier bail in a case involving the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository.
On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court granted Khan bail in the new Toshakhana case, filed in July and involving a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository.
Before the new case was filed, Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was convicted in four cases. Two of the cases have since been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
“A case has been registered for arson, stone pelting, resisting the police, damage to government property and other incidents,” Rawalpindi Police announced on X, reading the charges against Khan in connection to a protest held by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in September.
“Investigation team headed by SSP Investigation is investigating Imran Khan. Khan will be produced in court to obtain physical remand.”
Charges have also been filed in the case against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and a number of PTI leaders, including Seemabia Tahir, Amir Mughar and Aliya Hamza.
The police report of the case, which was filed on Sept. 28, the day of the rally, lists terrorism, attempted murder, vandalism, destruction of public and state property, and interference in government operations as the main charges. It says participants of the PTI rally created unrest, obstructed public access by burning tires and caused difficulties for citizens.
It also charges PTI leaders and supporters of raising anti-government slogans, hurling stones at the police and attacking them with iron rods during the protest.
Several police vehicles were damaged by PTI rallygoers and one police officer was injured, the report says.
Khan was in prison when the Sept. 28 rally took place. The former premier denies any wrongdoing, and alleges all the cases registered against him since he was removed from power in 2022 are politically motivated to keep him in jail.