A special tribunal in Pakistan handed down a 10-year prison sentence to ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan on allegations of disclosing confidential information tied to the U.S. during his tenure.
Alongside Khan, his former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also received a decade-long sentence related to a secret communication, referred to as a cipher.
The former official has contended that this cipher revealed a U.S. plot, assisted by the Pakistani military, to overthrow his government as retribution for his attempts to shape an independent foreign policy. These claims have been denied by both the U.S. and the Pakistani military.
Khan, who was removed from office in April 2022 through a vote of no confidence, has denounced these charges as politically motivated, attributing them to the influence of the military.
His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), criticized the court’s decision, calling it a travesty of justice, and announced plans to appeal the ruling.
The trial was held in a high-security facility with limited media access, and the verdict arrived just before the scheduled parliamentary elections on February 8.
Khan asserted that the charges against him, which number nearly 200 and range from corruption to terrorism, are the result of military machinations.
Despite facing legal and political challenges, Khan remains a significant figure in Pakistani politics, with his party maintaining substantial public support.
This situation underscores the ongoing tensions between Pakistan’s political leaders and its powerful military, which has a history of involvement in the country’s governance.
