Reuters. Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, is facing charges under an anti-terror act for threats to police and a magistrate.
Khan has been making fiery speeches to gatherings across the South Asian nation as he pushes for new elections after being ousted from power in April through a parliamentary vote.
The use of anti-terrorism laws as the basis of cases against political leaders is not uncommon in Pakistan, where Khan's government also used them against opponents and critics.
Saturday's (August 20) police report, seen by Reuters, cited Khan's comments that he "would not spare" Islamabad's police chief and a female judge for the arrest of his aide in a public speech about the alleged police torture of one of his aides, who faces sedition charges for inciting military mutiny in the powerful military.
"The purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty," police said in the report.
Legal experts say the public threats put the officials' lives at stake, and actually amounted to threatening the state, so that the anti-terrorism charges apply.
The military has also become a target for Khan, who has said it did not help him ward off a U.S. conspiracy that toppled him, a charge Washington has denied.
The military, which has ruled directly for over three decades of Pakistan's 75-year history, has rebuffed Khan's claim. It also denies meddling in politics.
Pakistan's electronic media regulator has banned the live transmission of Khan's speeches as being inflammatory.
