Imran Khan, ex-PM of Pakistan and top aide sentenced 10 years jail in a case involving state secrets
Jan 30, 2024 / GMT+6
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi have been sentenced 10-year prison by a Pakistani court. This verdict comes as a result of their involvement in unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information.
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On Tuesday, the special court in Islamabad, the capital city, announced its verdict in the cypher case, also known as the diplomatic cable case. This case centers around Imran Khan's claim that his removal from power in 2022 was a conspiracy, with the diplomatic cable serving as evidence to support his allegation.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the trial of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) president and his aide as null and void, leading to their indictment in the cipher case by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023.
Imran and Qureshi have been sentenced to jail, which comes just over a month after the Supreme Court granted them bail in the case, with each having to provide surety bonds of Rs 1 million.
The cipher case revolves around a diplomatic cable that allegedly went missing from Khan's possession. Khan had consistently claimed, both before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year, that the cipher indicated a conspiracy to remove him from the position of prime minister.
Imran Khan was accused of violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable known as the cipher. This cable was sent by Pakistan's embassy in Washington in March 2022, but Khan reportedly lost possession of it later on. According to Khan and Qureshi, the PTI government, which was in power in Pakistan at the time, was under threat from the US as revealed in the cable.
Khan was removed from the post of Prime Minister in April 2022 through a vote of no-confidence. Since then, more than 150 cases have been filed against him.
Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), has confirmed the situation, saying that it, is a fraudulent case without any media or public involvement. The party's legal team intends to contest the verdict in a superior court and expects the suspension of this sentence due to the inaccurate handling of the case. The Islamabad High Court had previously terminated the proceedings twice, granting media and public access. However, the legal team was denied access, and a rushed decision was made. This information was conveyed by the party through a WhatsApp message.
Khan has the option to appeal against the verdict in a higher court.
