Court in Pakistan Orders Terrorism Charges Against Ex-PM Imran Khan Dropped

A court in Pakistan ordered terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan dropped, saying that his alleged crime did not rise to the level of the charges. The charges were filed after a speech Khan gave last month in Islamabad in which he said he would sue police officers and a female judge over the arrest of his close aide on charges of treason, and alleged that the aide had been tortured after his arrest earlier this month.

The police said that Khan’s statements were illegal under the country’s sedition act. Anti-terrorism laws have frequently been used to build cases against Pakistan’s political opponents, including in the past by Khan’s government. Khan, who heads the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was ousted as prime minister in April in a no-confidence vote in the country’s parliament.