In a significant blow to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, he and his party’s deputy, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were handed 10-year prison sentences on Tuesday for revealing official secrets. The verdict was delivered at a prison in Rawalpindi, compounding Khan’s challenges as he is currently serving a three-year sentence in a corruption case. Renowned for his cricket career, Khan transitioned into an Islamist politician.
Zulfiqar Bukhari, spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, mentioned that the court’s decision, part of the Cipher case, allows both Khan and Qureshi to appeal. This development comes just ahead of Pakistan’s parliamentary elections on February 8, where Khan is ineligible to run due to a prior criminal conviction.
The Cipher case is one among over 150 pending cases against Khan, ranging from contempt of court to allegations of terrorism and incitement of violence.
The Cipher case against Khan revolves around criminal proceedings initiated in 2023 for exposing Pakistan’s official secrets. It centers on diplomatic communications between Washington and Islamabad, involving the alleged disclosure of confidential diplomatic communication from Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to Islamabad during Khan’s prime ministership.
In 2022, Khan claimed that it was part of a US conspiracy to overthrow his government, though Washington consistently denied any involvement. The case originated from a rally in March 2022, a month before Khan’s removal through a vote of no confidence. During the rally, Khan brandished a document, asserting it revealed a foreign conspiracy against him. His former principal secretary, Azam Khan, stated in 2023 that Khan had manipulated a US diplomatic encrypted letter in March 2022 to advance his political goals. The letter supposedly stated that “all will be forgiven if Imran Khan is removed from power.”