Former Pakistani prime minister sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets

The special court found former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (72 years old) guilty of publicizing the contents of a secret cable sent by Pakistan's ambassador to Washington DC to the government in Islamabad, Reuters reported today, January 30, citing a statement from Mr. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also sentenced to 10 years in a similar case.

Khan had previously said the cable linked to the case was evidence that the Pakistani military and the US government were plotting to overthrow his government in 2022 after he visited Moscow shortly before Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine. Washington and the Pakistani military denied the allegations.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks to the press at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, on May 18, 2023.

The jail term is Mr Khan's second in recent months, and ensures the former prime minister will remain in prison and out of the public eye ahead of next week's general election, according to Reuters.

PTI said it would challenge the ruling. "We do not accept this illegal decision," Mr Khan's lawyer Naeem Panjutha wrote on social media platform X.

Zulfikar Bukhari, an aide to former Prime Minister Khan, told Reuters the legal team had not had a chance to represent Khan or cross-examine witnesses while the proceedings were being conducted in prison. Bukhari called the conviction an attempt to weaken support for Khan.

Mr Khan was previously sentenced to three years in prison in a corruption case, disqualifying him from running in next week's general election, according to Reuters.

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