The Quetta Court in western Pakistan on Thursday ordered the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Jan for allegedly committing hate crimes and insulting the state and its institutions.
According to the indictment, the statements of the leader of the Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) are aimed at «destroying public peace and order», while damaging the credibility of institutions and the people who work in them, reports the Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’.
In a related case, the Lahore High Court in East Pakistan on Thursday overturned the media regulatory agency’s ban on Jan speeches, saying it violated the right to freedom of expression.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) imposed the ban immediately on Sunday in view of his «provocative statements against state institutions and officials» as «prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order».
This week, the Islamabad High Court cancelled until 13 March the arrest warrants against Jan in the case of gifts he received while serving as prime minister and which he allegedly concealed in his statements. The law allows government officials to keep gifts as long as they pay the state a fraction of their assessed value.
Jan was the subject of a no-confidence motion in April 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned his decision to dissolve parliament and announce early elections following the National Assembly’s refusal to hold the vote in the first instance. In November, the former prime minister was shot and wounded after being shot at during a protest against the new government.
