Imran Khan, a former prime minister, has been charged with terrorism amid the heightening political unrest as he stages large rallies seeking re-election.

The terrorism accusations stem from a speech that Khan gave in Islamabad, during which he threatened to sue female judges and police personnel and claimed that one of his close advisers had been tortured after his incarceration.

Khan himself appeared to be still at large and had not yet responded to the police complaint that had been made against him. As per the reports, Khan’s political party, the opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf party of Pakistan, posted internet videos of his followers encircling his house to ostensibly prevent the police from entering. Early on Monday, hundreds were still there.

In 2018, Khan was elected president with the promise that he would end Pakistan’s tradition of family domination. His opponents claim he had assistance from the strong military, which has controlled the nation for half of its 75-year history, in order to win the election.

The opposition had accused Khan of economic incompetence as inflation surges and the value of the Pakistani rupee falls earlier this year when they sought Khan’s departure. The no-confidence vote in the parliament in April put an end to months of political unrest and a constitutional crisis that necessitated intervention from the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, it seemed that the military’s attitude toward Khan had also changed.

Khan claimed that the Pakistani military participated in a U.S. conspiracy to assassinate him without offering any supporting proof. That has been refuted by Washington, the Pakistani military, and Shahbaz Sharif’s administration, who is Khan’s successor. Khan has also organised a number of large-scale protests in an effort to put pressure on Sharif’s administration.

According to the internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks, the country’s internet services cut off access to YouTube on Sunday after Khan streamed a live speech there despite a Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ban.

Shahbaz Gill, a political aide to Imran Khan, was detained by police earlier this month after he spoke on the private television network ARY TV, urging soldiers and officers to disregard “illegal instructions” from the military hierarchy. Treason, which is punishable by death in Pakistan, was the charge against Gill. After the transmission, ARY in Pakistan likewise stays off the air.

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