Pakistani police issues charges against Imran Khan and his wife for inciting violence

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani police have levelled multiple charges against imprisoned former premier Imran Khan, his wife and others for inciting people to violence, officials said Thursday, following days of protests and clashes in which at least six people were killed and scores more were injured.

Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi led thousands of people from the country's northwest to march on the capital Islamabad to demand the release of Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023. Khan already has more than 150 cases against him but supporters say they are politically motivated.

Bibi, a spiritual healer, fled when police launched a midnight raid Tuesday to disperse thousands of demonstrators. She was out of prison on bail in a graft case when she led the protest from northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Authorities said police arrested nearly 1,000 demonstrators since Sunday in and around Islamabad.

At least six people, including four security personnel, were killed when a vehicle rammed into them, according to Islamabad police which has blamed Khan supporters for the deaths.

Police issued charges against Khan, Bibi and others in Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi under Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws. Authorities accuse them of inciting people to attack security forces and disrupting the peace.

Khan faces more than 150 cases against him but his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says it will continue to push for his release.

On Thursday, Planning and Development Minster Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told international media that Khan supporters "wanted to take over the capital” and that some of them were carrying weapons. These were seized when the midnight raid was under way, they said.

Iqbal said security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds. He dismissed the PTI's claim that some Khan supporters died from police firing live bullets. He added that it was not a peaceful rally because the protesters used guns.

The rally came after 42 Shiites were killed in the northwestern Kurram district earlier this month when gunmen opened fire on convoys of buses and cars. Retaliatory attacks in Kurram also left dozens more people dead.

Also on Thursday, eight people were killed in new sectarian clashes in Kurram, local police official Salim Shah said.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police filed terrorism charges against a journalist, Matiullah Jan, on Thursday after his family said he was abducted by unknown men. Police say Jan, who is now in police custody, refused to stop at a checkpoint and he had snatched a gun from an officer. Police also alleged that Jan was “drunk” when arrested, a charge he denied.

It's the latest turmoil to rock the country since Khan's ouster in 2022.

Pakistan’s Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion on Tuesday due to the political tension, but it recovered from on Thursday by surpassing 100,000 points for the first time. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the rebound was a sign of an improving economy.

___

Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.