Two federal ministers and two PTV executives have been detained on terrorism charges for allegedly inciting religious hatred against Imran Khan.
On Monday, Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, accused senior politician Maryam Nawaz of plotting his assassination via a "religious fanatic" and spreading "sectarianism and religious hate" against him. The head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also addressed the plot to assassinate him during a rally last Saturday in Rahim Yar Khan, a city located around 400 kilometres north of Lahore.
Also, READ: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s audio leaks reveal plans to import machinery illegally from India, trigger political uproar
Maryam, the daughter of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is so desperate, according to Khan, that she is also working to have him disqualified from the upcoming election by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Toshakhana case for failing to include details about gifts he received from the state depository in his assets declaration.
“Maryam Nawaz along with her accomplices propagated sectarianism and religious hatred against me to make a ground that any religious fanatic gets motivated and kill me,” Mr Khan, 69, said during his address with businessmen here.
“I am not afraid of death as it will be decided by Allah (God) and none else,” the 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said. “Four people had decided behind ‘closed doors' to get me killed,” he claimed.
Maryam, a prominent member of the Pakistan Muslim League, had previously used her Twitter account to provide a comparison between two claimed utterances of Imran Khan and the same number of verses from the Quran.
“This man (Imran) is using religion for his politics and promoting his false narrative. Save your faith and the country from this Satan," she said.
The Punjab Police have arrested two federal ministers and two high-ranking executives of state-run PTV on terrorism charges for allegedly inciting religious hate against Imran Khan and putting his life in jeopardy.
Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif, PTV Managing Director Sohail Khan, and the broadcaster's Controller Programmes Rashid Baig were named in the FIR, which was launched in response to a complaint by a local politician.
They were arrested and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, specifically Section 9 (penalty for conduct designed or likely to stir up sectarian hatred) and Section 11X(3) (responsibility for provoking civil disorder).
According to Latif, Khan is "supportive of minority Ahmadi group" and hence "non-Muslim." In 1974, the Ahmadi community was officially designated as non-Muslim by the Parliament of Pakistan. Ten years later, they couldn't even use the term "Muslim" in public. They can't preach or go on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
(With inputs from PTI)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan accuses Maryam Nawaz of plotting to kill him")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}