Imran Khan jailed for 10 years for leaking state secrets
What's the story
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Tuesday sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in leaking state secrets.
This came a week before Pakistan's general elections, in which he is barred from contesting.
Khan, ousted as the PM in 2022, is already serving a three-year jail term following a corruption conviction.
He has called all charges against him "politically motivated."
Context
Why does this story matter?
In 2022, Khan was kicked out of office by a parliamentary vote.
He had blamed the military for orchestrating his removal. He also accused the army of trying to kill him, but failed to provide any proof.
Reacting to the judgment, Khan's lawyers said the trial was unfair because they weren't allowed to participate.
They said, they will challenge the judgment in court.
Another PTI leader convicted
Former foreign minister also sentenced to 10 years in prison
Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi—the vice-chairman of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party—was also sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court on Tuesday.
The case, widely known as the cipher case, centers on the purported leaking of secret diplomatic correspondence.
The diplomatic cable was sent by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington to Islamabad during Khan's tenure as the prime minister.
Twitter Post
Details of Khan's arrest
Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on the cypher case, i.e. disclosing the contents of this cable. Forget everything, read the cypher (attached) and ask why the elected head of the govt of a sovereign country is not allowed to talk to his people about this. pic.twitter.com/apYhthcOmB
— Waqas (@worqas) January 30, 2024
In 2022
What is the cipher case?
The case stems from an incident at a rally in March 2022, a month before Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
At the rally, Khan brandished a document alleging a foreign conspiracy against him.
While he didn't name any country then, he subsequently criticized the United States.
The prosecution argued that Khan's actions amounted to leaking a classified document and damaging diplomatic relations.
Imran jailed since 2023
Khan already serving sentence in corruption case
The Tuesday verdict was handed down to the PTI chief inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where he has been lodged since August 2023.
To recall, in November 2023, Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) convicted him in the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana corruption cases.
These convictions have also barred Khan from contesting elections and holding office for the next five years.
Upcoming elections
General elections in Pakistan on February 8
The general elections will be held in Pakistan on February 8, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
On August 9, 2023, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly, setting a 90-day deadline to hold fresh polls.
Khan's party, the PTI—which was recently stripped of its electoral symbol, the "bat"—is contesting against ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League (N) party.
Election strategy
PTI mobilizes party workers for poll campaigning
As Khan grapples with multiple legal cases, the PTI is now depending on party workers for its electoral campaign.
On Tuesday, it said, "It is now the responsibility of every worker to inform at least 20 people on a daily basis of both the symbols of both the National and Provincial Assembly candidates of PTI."