In a case involving allegations of state secret leaks, a Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi to ten years in prison each. His party announced that it would appeal the decision, which was made less than two weeks before the general elections.
They claim that this is an attempt by the military-led establishment to prevent Khan، and the majority، of their party's top officials from running as candidates for the election on February 8th. The army claims that it stays out of politics.
This particular case, popularly called the 'cipher case,' relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.
According to the police complaint against Khan and Qureshi, who was Khan’s foreign minister during his tenure from 2018-22, both are accused of leaking state secrets to unauthorized individuals by publicly disclosing the contents of the confidential diplomatic cable and distorting facts “with ulterior motives and for personal gains.”
These actions, authorities say, had jeopardized the Pakistani state’s security interests.
A special court established to hear the case had been conducting the trial inside the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi for weeks where it concluded the cross-examination of all 25 witnesses late on Monday night.
Khan is currently serving a three-year jail term in another case at Adiala and faces dozens of cases since he was ousted from power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in 2022. Charges range from terrorism to attempted murder.
They claim that this is an attempt by the military-led establishment to prevent Khan، and the majority، of their party's top officials from running as candidates for the election on February 8th. The army claims that it stays out of politics.
This particular case, popularly called the 'cipher case,' relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.
According to the police complaint against Khan and Qureshi, who was Khan’s foreign minister during his tenure from 2018-22, both are accused of leaking state secrets to unauthorized individuals by publicly disclosing the contents of the confidential diplomatic cable and distorting facts “with ulterior motives and for personal gains.”
These actions, authorities say, had jeopardized the Pakistani state’s security interests.
A special court established to hear the case had been conducting the trial inside the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi for weeks where it concluded the cross-examination of all 25 witnesses late on Monday night.
Khan is currently serving a three-year jail term in another case at Adiala and faces dozens of cases since he was ousted from power in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in 2022. Charges range from terrorism to attempted murder.
