Imran Khan’s supporters gathered in front of his house on Monday to prevent police from taking him into custody on anti-terrorism charges stemming from a weekend televised speech. 

An assistant who is accused of sedition for allegedly instigating rebellion in the military was subjected to police torture, according to allegations filed against the former cricket star Khan on Saturday.

“We will not spare you,” Khan said in the speech, in which he named the police chief and the judge involved in the case against his aide. “We will sue you.”

As per Reuters, police said in the report, “The purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty.” 

Khan said, “I had called to take legal action against them (police officers and judicial magistrate),” adding the government had nevertheless registered a terrorism case against him.

“All these things show that we don’t have rule of law in Pakistan,” he said, adding he has 16 cases against him, in addition to this latest terrorism case.

After a court granted Khan three days of pre-arrest bail later in the day, according to Khan’s attorney Babar Awan, the demonstrators started to disperse. 

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 until April of this year when he was forced to resign as a result of failing to win a vote of confidence in the legislature. He has since been running for new elections. 

According to a tweet on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s official page, Khan emerged at his front gate to greet fans.

In Pakistan, where Khan’s administration has utilised them against rivals and detractors, anti-terrorism laws are frequently used as the legal foundation for charges against political leaders. 

Political commentators claim that the military supported Khan’s rise to power. Khan won the election with a conservative platform that won over many middle-class and religious voters. But according to observers, Khan and the military had a falling out over the choice of a spy head.

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