Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with dozens of his party members, has been formally indicted by a Pakistani court on charges of inciting violence against military and government installations during widespread unrest in May 2023. The court proceedings took place Thursday in Rawalpindi, with charges filed under anti-terrorism laws carrying potential life imprisonment penalties.
Khan, who remains imprisoned, pleaded not guilty to the allegations. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also confirmed the indictment, which stems from violent protests that erupted after his arrest on corruption charges last year. The PTI described the charges as politically motivated.
The May 2023 unrest saw thousands of Khan’s supporters targeting key military sites, including the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and an air base in Mianwali, Punjab province. Protesters also set ablaze the building housing the state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwestern region.
Authorities argue that the demonstrators were incited by Khan’s repeated accusations that the military, along with the United States, orchestrated his removal through a no-confidence vote in April 2022. Both the U.S. government and Pakistan’s military have denied the allegations.
The indictment of Khan is the latest in a string of over 150 criminal cases filed against him since his ouster. On the same day as the indictment, police arrested Omar Ayub Khan, a senior PTI official and opposition leader in Parliament, on separate charges of incitement to violence.
In recent weeks, the government has intensified its crackdown on PTI members. Last week, clashes broke out in Islamabad as thousands of Khan’s supporters defied a police lockdown to march into the capital, demanding Khan’s release.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Khan announced plans for a rally in Peshawar on December 13 to honor PTI supporters who were allegedly killed by security forces during recent protests. He called for the formation of a five-member committee of senior PTI leaders to negotiate with the military for the release of what he described as political prisoners.
Khan also demanded a judicial commission to investigate the violence of both May 2023 and the recent unrest in November 2023. He warned that failure to meet these demands would result in a civil disobedience campaign starting December 14, which would include urging Pakistanis abroad to cut back on remittances to the country.
Authorities have intensified their search for Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who led recent protests but fled the scene during clashes in Islamabad on November 26. Police claim she is hiding in Peshawar, a PTI stronghold, and are seeking her arrest despite her recent release on bail in a corruption case.
In a separate development, Pakistan’s military announced that eight militants were killed during operations in the restive northwest on Thursday. Raids were conducted in South Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, regions bordering Afghanistan. The military confirmed the militants were neutralized as part of ongoing efforts to combat insurgency in the area.
