Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi face ‘terrorism’ charges after Islamabad protests

The latest charges against Pakistan’s former PM and his wife add to mounting political tensions.

Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani government has filed a series of charges, including one related to “terrorism”, against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife, Bushra Bibi, and hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers after protests held in Islamabad this week.

Khan, Bibi and others have been accused of “terrorism”, violations of a law that restricts protests in the capital, attacks on police, abduction, interference in government affairs and defiance of Section 144, which prohibits gatherings of more than four people.

Authorities have already arrested nearly 1,000 workers from Khan’s PTI party who travelled to Islamabad on Sunday to participate in the sit-in in response to their leader’s “final call” to protest against the government.

Khan, the PTI’s founder, has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is facing dozens of criminal cases. Bibi was also jailed for nine months this year before being released in October.

The protesters, who managed to reach central Islamabad despite roadblocks set up across the country by the government, called for Khan’s release among other demands. Bibi led the protest alongside Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

When protesters reached the planned site of the sit-in on Tuesday afternoon, paramilitary forces reportedly opened fire to disperse the crowd.

Later that evening, law enforcement launched a two-hour operation that cleared the area. Both Bibi and Gandapur left for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that same night.

On Wednesday morning, the PTI issued a statement announcing the suspension of the sit-in for the “time being” and said at