<p>Hundreds of supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, gathered on Monday outside his hilltop mansion in the capital, Islamabad, vowing to prevent his arrest on anti-terrorism accusations, officials of his political party said.</p>.<p>The move follows a police case filed against Khan on Saturday for threatening government officials in a public speech about the alleged police torture of one of his aides, who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the powerful military.</p>.<p>The protesters chanted slogans against the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which took over after Khan's ouster in a confidence vote in April.</p>.<p>"If Imran Khan is arrested ... we will take over Islamabad," a former minister in his cabinet, Ali Amin Gandapur, said on Twitter, as some party leaders urged supporters to prepare for mass mobilisation.</p>.<p>Another former ministerial colleague, Murad Saeed, told domestic television channels that the police had issued orders for Khan's arrest.</p>.<p>Islamabad police declined to confirm this, however.</p>.<p>The use of anti-terrorism laws as the basis of cases against political leaders is not uncommon in Pakistan, where Khan's government also used them against opponents and critics.</p>.<p>Saturday's police report, seen by <em>Reuters</em>, cited Khan's comments that he "would not spare" Islamabad's police chief and a female judge for the arrest of his aide.</p>.<p>"The purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty," police said in the report.</p>.<p>Legal experts say the public threats put the officials' lives at stake, and actually amounted to threatening the state, so that the anti-terrorism charges apply.</p>.<p>The military has also become a target for Khan, who has said it did not help him ward off a U.S. conspiracy that toppled him, a charge Washington has denied.</p>.<p>The military, which has ruled directly for over three decades of Pakistan's 75-year history, has rebuffed Khan's claim. It also denies meddling in politics.</p>.<p>Pakistan's electronic media regulator has banned the live transmission of Khan's speeches as being inflammatory.</p>
<p>Hundreds of supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, gathered on Monday outside his hilltop mansion in the capital, Islamabad, vowing to prevent his arrest on anti-terrorism accusations, officials of his political party said.</p>.<p>The move follows a police case filed against Khan on Saturday for threatening government officials in a public speech about the alleged police torture of one of his aides, who faces sedition charges for inciting mutiny in the powerful military.</p>.<p>The protesters chanted slogans against the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which took over after Khan's ouster in a confidence vote in April.</p>.<p>"If Imran Khan is arrested ... we will take over Islamabad," a former minister in his cabinet, Ali Amin Gandapur, said on Twitter, as some party leaders urged supporters to prepare for mass mobilisation.</p>.<p>Another former ministerial colleague, Murad Saeed, told domestic television channels that the police had issued orders for Khan's arrest.</p>.<p>Islamabad police declined to confirm this, however.</p>.<p>The use of anti-terrorism laws as the basis of cases against political leaders is not uncommon in Pakistan, where Khan's government also used them against opponents and critics.</p>.<p>Saturday's police report, seen by <em>Reuters</em>, cited Khan's comments that he "would not spare" Islamabad's police chief and a female judge for the arrest of his aide.</p>.<p>"The purpose of the speech was to spread terror amongst the police and the judiciary and prevent them from doing their duty," police said in the report.</p>.<p>Legal experts say the public threats put the officials' lives at stake, and actually amounted to threatening the state, so that the anti-terrorism charges apply.</p>.<p>The military has also become a target for Khan, who has said it did not help him ward off a U.S. conspiracy that toppled him, a charge Washington has denied.</p>.<p>The military, which has ruled directly for over three decades of Pakistan's 75-year history, has rebuffed Khan's claim. It also denies meddling in politics.</p>.<p>Pakistan's electronic media regulator has banned the live transmission of Khan's speeches as being inflammatory.</p>