Imran Khan is sentenced to ten years in prison for ‘leaking state secrets’ two weeks before Pakistan elections
- Khan is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case
A Pakistani court today sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies to 10 years in prison each after finding them guilty of revealing official secrets.
Khan, who was ousted by a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case.
According to Zulfiqar Bukhari, chief spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), the verdict was announced by a special court set up in the prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan is being held.
Authorities said Khan and his deputy, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who also received a 10-year prison sentence, have the right to appeal Tuesday’s ruling in the case, popularly known as the Cipher.
Khan’s legal team planned to appeal the conviction to the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday.
Khan, who was ousted by a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case (File Photo)
The latest development comes ahead of Pakistan’s February 8 parliamentary elections – a vote in which Khan is barred from participating due to his previous criminal conviction.
Although Khan will not be on the ballot for the February 8 election, he remains a powerful political force because of his grassroots support and anti-establishment rhetoric.
He says the lawsuits against him were a plot to sideline him before the election.
Pakistan has seen violent demonstrations since Khan’s arrest in May 2023. Since then, authorities have cracked down on his supporters and party.
Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission has said there is little chance of free and fair parliamentary elections next month due to “pre-election manipulation”.
It also expressed concern that authorities rejected the candidacies of Khan and senior figures from his party.
Khan’s legal team planned to appeal the conviction to the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday (file photo)
In the Cipher case, Khan is said to have waved a confidential document, a secret cable, during a meeting after being overthrown.
The document has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers, but apparently involved diplomatic correspondence between Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington and the State Department in Islamabad.
During the speech, Khan claimed that the document was proof that he was being threatened and that his removal was a US conspiracy allegedly carried out by the military and government in Pakistan.
Washington and Pakistani officials have denied the claim.
Khan’s party said in a statement that it stands with Khan and Qureshi, “who defended Pakistan and stood for true independence.”
PTI described the proceedings as a ‘show trial’ and said the judge did not even allow Khan and Qureshi’s lawyers to defend them.