Sep 21, 2023
Imran Khan To Be Probed for Sedition Before Pakistan Elections
Bloomberg News
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(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be probed for sedition, which carries a maximum punishment of death, for allegedly inciting his supporters to attack state buildings.
The police in central Punjab province added the charges in a complaint registered earlier after a court’s approval, Khan’s lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer said by phone from Lahore. The former cricket star will appeal against the charges in a higher court, Umer said.
The firebrand politician has seen legal challenges mount after he was removed from power by the majority lawmakers through a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year. Khan received a three-year jail term in a graft case in August that the Islamabad High Court suspended until a final verdict but he is still arrested in another case for leaking a secret diplomatic cable when he was in power.
The authorities have framed more than 150 cases against Khan from murder to corruption and inciting violence hurting his chances of participating in elections due early next year. The sedition charges were added after police said his supporters broke the law, clashed with authorities and damaged government and military buildings on May 9 after he was briefly arrested in one of the cases.
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