Islamabad. A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to the harshest prison sentence of 10 years for leaking official secrets. Khan’s supporters have said that the imprisoned politician was sidelined days before the parliamentary elections.
Khan, who was ousted by a vote of no confidence in 2022, is already serving a three-year prison sentence, so he is barred from being a candidate in the election. More than 150 other cases against him are still pending. However, the former cricket star has become a powerful political force due to his grassroots grip and anti-establishment rhetoric.
Despite violent protests in Pakistan following Khan’s arrest last year, authorities have since cracked down on the Islamist politician’s supporters and party. Due to this, they have become cautious to organize new rallies.
Elections are going to be held on February 8 in Pakistan at a sensitive time when it is caught in an economic crisis. Shahbaz Sharif, Khan’s successor, had to struggle to manage the financial crisis. Sharif was only able to get a bailout from the International Monetary Fund by agreeing to a substantial increase in gas and electricity taxes. This led to an alarming increase in the prices of daily necessities and his party became unpopular.
On Tuesday, Khan was found guilty in a case known as the Cipher case. In that case, he was accused of revealing state secrets by leaking a confidential document at a rally. The document has not been made public but is believed to be a diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador in Washington and the foreign ministry in Islamabad.
Former Prime Minister Khan claimed that the document was proof that he was being threatened and said that his expulsion was allegedly an American conspiracy implemented by the army and government in Pakistan. US and Pakistani officials have denied the claim. Newsagency