(Bloomberg) — Imran Khan was granted preemptive bail in a terrorism case as Pakistan’s former prime minister appeared in front of an anti-terror court judge to explain his position on the complaints he faces.
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The judge has barred police from arresting Khan until Sept. 1, said Syed Ali Zafar, a member of the former premier’s legal team. The leader will file an application seeking to quash the police complaint because it has no merit, said Fawad Chaudhry, leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf told reporters in Islamabad.
Khan faces possible arrest over the complaint, that seeks action under the nation’s terrorism law for his “threatening” comments against senior police officials and a judge, during a rally in capital Islamabad on Saturday. A separate court has also summoned the former cricket star next week as it mulls possible contempt of court charges stemming from the same speech.
There was no immediate comment from the government.
Khan has been drawing massive crowds to his rallies since he was ousted from power through a parliament no-confidence vote in April and has also targeted the nation’s powerful army in his public addresses.
He has claimed his removal was orchestrated by the US, with the support of the current government and the military. All of them have denied the allegation.
Khan wants Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to dissolve parliament and announce early elections and has threatened to march on Islamabad if his demand is not met.
The political drama threatens to undermine Pakistan’s quest to convince the International Monetary Fund to release $1.2 billion at a board meeting on Monday. The South Asian nation is also seeking aid from friendly nations to fill its financing gap as it deals with faltering foreign-currency reserves and one of Asia’s fastest-inflation rates.
(Updates with comments from Khan’s political party)
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