Pakistan, former Prime Minister Imran Khan jailed to ten years for revealing state secrets
The former Pakistani prime minister was sentenced to ten years for leaking secret diplomatic correspondence. For Khan, the sentence is political, and the country’s authorities are accused of intentionally hindering his party’s campaign for the elections on February 8
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was sentenced to ten years in prison in a case in which he was accused of leaking state secrets. Khan, who was ousted by his opponents from the role of prime minister in 2022, is already serving a three-year prison sentence for corruption.
The leak of diplomatic correspondence
Khan’s sentence, which he calls one political revenge, comes the week before a general election in which the former prime minister cannot stand. Even the former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice-president of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was sentenced to ten years in prison by the special court.
The case revolves around the alleged leak of secret diplomatic correspondence sent by Ambassador of Pakistan to Washington and Islamabad when Khan was prime minister. It refers to his appearance at a rally in March 2022, a month before he was ousted from power in a vote of no confidence. Khan appeared on stage, waving a piece of paper that he said showed a conspiracy foreign against him.
Since August, Imran Khan has been detained
Khan has been held in Adiala prison since August. International media were not allowed to attend the special court proceedings that took place in recent months. Local media reported that the judge was recently asked to speed up the trial.
A PTI spokesperson said the party would challenge the court ruling, calling it a mockery. “We do not accept this illegal decision,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter)Naeem Panjutha, the former prime minister’s lawyer who is fighting dozens of other lawsuits.
The general elections in Pakistan will be held on February 8, and controversy is mounting in the country against the authorities and the government, accused of preventing the PTI from campaigning by the authorities.
