After Bhutto, Khan becomes second ex-PM to be booked for ‘murder’

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was named in an FIR for the murder of Rangers personnel during a protest by his supporters on Islamabad’s Srinagar Highway.

On November 25, a speeding car crashed into Rangers personnel, leaving three dead and two policemen injured during clashes between law enforcement and PTI protesters.

Khan, along with several PTI leaders, has been charged under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including Section 302 (murder), Section 324 (attempted murder), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 114 (abetment in the presence of an offense), and others.

According to police, the driver of the vehicle rammed his Land Cruiser into the security personnel "with the intention of murder" on the orders of Imran Khan.

This development draws parallels to a 1974 case where Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was booked for murder in Balochistan. 

Bhutto was hanged in 1977 in the same case, two years after his ousting by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.

However, the prosecution and legal experts raised concerns about the applicability of murder charges in the present case. 

Experts argued that the FIR should have invoked Section 322 of the PPC, which deals with unintentional killings resulting from accidents, rather than Section 302, which pertains to intentional murder.

As per reports, the driver involved in the incident was intoxicated at the time. Legal experts contended that even under these circumstances, the case should have been filed under Section 322.

The accused driver, identified as a resident of Islamabad’s F-10 area, was arrested near Shaheed Chowk shortly after the incident. 

In his statement to the police, the driver claimed that the Rangers personnel suddenly appeared in front of his vehicle, causing him to lose control.

This is not the first murder case involving Imran Khan. In 2023, he was named in an FIR by Balochistan police for the murder of Advocate Abdul Razzaq Shar. However, he was later cleared of those charges.