Imran Khan’s counsel Babar Awan has warned the government against filing a sedition case against the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan.
In a statement, he said the PMLN-led ‘imported government’ and its allies are ‘testing waters’ to see what kind of reaction they would get.
He said Imran Khan is not scared of cases against him, but if the case is filed, it will be dangerous for the state of Pakistan, which will be pushed to the highest alert level.
According to state-run APP, a meeting was chaired by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah discussed filing a sedition case against Imran and the chief ministers of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Section 124A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
This law criminalises words or expressions which “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection” towards the government.
Read more: Imran Khan says the govt wants to get rid of him through treason case
But the meeting was postponed to June 6 by the committee “to present its final recommendations before the federal cabinet.”
Awan said if a sedition case is filed against Khan, the KP government will file a lawsuit against the PM under Article 7 of the Constitution.
The lawyer said the PM would then be arrested if he visited the province, which would lead to a war between the federal and the provincial government. He said the province of GB is still in a transitional phase, adding that if the government filed cases against the chief minister, it would only serve the Indian interest and subsequently harm the Kashmir cause at the UN.
He said the Peshawar High Court would extend the period of Imran Khan’s bail beyond June 25 if more cases were found against him.
Present government of Pakistan🇵🇰 is making strict laws to suppress the political and fundamental rights of the people. News of the impeachment of Pakistan's🇵🇰 ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of sedition based on political enmity is worrisome.
— Muhammed Faisal (@Intl_Mediatior) June 3, 2022
He said the ‘puppets of the US’ have filled two cases against the GB chief minister in Islamabad, and he is not allowed to enter the capital.
He said Imran Khan is the biggest public awareness movement in the world at the moment, adding that he pulled a massive crowd in his Friday rally in Buner, but his rally in Upper Dir on Saturday would be critical.
Not interested in filling treason charge against Khan: Khaqan Abbasi
However, Former prime minister and senior PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the government is not interested in filing a treason case against Imran Khan.
Speaking on Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath on Friday, Abbasi said, “everyone knows that President Arif Alvi, Imran Khan, and his other companions have violated the constitution.”
Read more: Who will be next PTI Punjab President?
The PML-N leader said during Imran Khan’s government, every opposition leader was arrested in fake cases.
But he said the government does not want to engage in politics of labelling rivals as traitors “as we have a bigger challenge to stabilise the country’s economy.”