Rivals want a ‘technical knockout’, says Imran Khan after court appearance

Imran Khan accused the Pakistani government of trying to score a “technical knockout” against him after his appearance in an Islamabad court today on terrorism charges.

A judgment was not immediately available, but officials from the former prime minister’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said he had been granted “interim bail” until September 1.

His court appearance is the latest twist in months of political wrangling that began when he was ousted from power in April by a confidence vote in the national assembly. The former cricket star retains widespread support, however, staging mass rallies railing against the government led by the new prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and scoring successes in recent provincial assembly by-elections.

The latest allegations against Khan, 69, stem from a weekend rally at which he criticised a magistrate responsible for keeping a PTI official in police custody, with party leaders claiming he had been tortured. Khan repeated his criticism of the judge today, after his court appearance, and said the government was running scared because of his popularity. “Due to that fear, they are looking for technical knockouts. Just to save themselves, they are making a mockery of the country.”

Khan is also due to appear before the Islamabad High Court on August 31 to face contempt proceedings on charges of threatening a judge. His conviction in that case would mean his disqualification from politics for life under Pakistani law. No convicted person can run for office.

It is the second time that Khan has been charged with contempt. After elections in 1993 he was summoned but pardoned by the Supreme Court after denouncing the conduct of the judiciary as shameful and saying it did not ensure free and fair elections.

Legal experts said Khan has limited options but could avoid a conviction if he apologised for his remarks against Judge Zeba Chaudhry. He had warned that action would be taken against her after she allowed police to interrogate Shahbaz Gill, his party’s chief of staff. Gill has been in detention for nearly two weeks after being arrested over a TV interview in which he urged army officers to disobey orders that went against the interests of the country.

Khan said Gill had been tortured and sexually abused in custody, and vowed action against those responsible. “That includes the inspector-general, deputy inspector-general of police and a magistrate who sent him on physical remand despite knowing he was tortured,” he said.

The political crisis coincides with devastating floods across a vast swathe of the country caused by record monsoon rains. Figures from the national disaster agency today show that 903 people have died in the floods since June, with more than 180,000 forced to flee their rural homes. In addition, the economy is in freefall, with Pakistan at risk of defaulting on foreign loans unless, as expected, the International Monetary Fund approves the resumption of a $6 billion bailout package next week.

Khan and other senior party officials have faced a variety of charges since being booted out of office. The country has a history of those in power using the police and courts to stifle their political opponents, and Sharif, 70, has several pending cases brought against him while he was in opposition.

Khan said the government had turned the country into a “banana republic”, adding: “There is no law here and any charges can be brought against anyone.” His main goal is an early general election — the next one must be held before October next year — but the government has shown no sign of wanting to go to the polls.

Talat Masood, a former general and now a political analyst, said: “I think if an election is not called soon, Imran Khan’s popularity will further grow so he shouldn’t be concerned. These massive demonstrations show that he has the backing of millions of supporters, but this also shows that the public lacks interest in parliamentary democracy.”