Ghulam Ghaws

An arrest warrant has been issued for former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan in a contempt case, local media have reported.

The warrant, dated September 30, relates to the alleged threatening of a judge during a political rally on August 20, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper on Saturday.

At the August rally, Mr Khan, who is chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, reportedly warned judge Zeba Chaudhry, and the judiciary, of dire consequences over what he described as “biased” attitudes towards his movement.

The Islamabad High Court issued the warrant hours after the former prime minister submitted an affidavit in the contempt case.

Mr Khan said he realised he “might have crossed a line” in his criticism of Ms Chaudhry and was willing to apologise.

The former leader has faced several legal cases since he was removed from power by MPs in April.

Mr Khan, who became prime minister in 2018, reportedly with the support of Pakistan’s military, eventually fell out with the country’s powerful generals. Both the military and Mr Khan deny that he rose to power with the army’s support.

Since his removal, Mr Khan has held nationwide rallies to demand snap elections, but Pakistan’s ruling coalition has refused this, saying polls will be held as scheduled by the end of next year.