Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the cipher case, his second conviction since ousted from power. Besides Khan, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Quresh too was sentenced to prison.
The decision was announced by special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during the hearing of the case in Rawalpindi. Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) confirmed the development.
The cipher case pertains to allegations that Khan had shared contents of a secret cable sent by the country’s ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad.
During a public rally on March 27, 2022, Khan waved the document and claimed that it was ‘evidence’ of an international conspiracy to topple his government, naming the US. The Pakistani investigation agency also charged that Khan never returned the diplomatic document.
Judge Zulqarnain during the hearing, had handed over a questionnaire under Section 342 of the Pakistan Penal Code to Imran and Qureshi, reported Karachi-based Dawn. After Imran recorded his statement, the court asked him about the whereabouts of the cipher. Imran replied that he had it in his office.
Meanwhile, the PTI has issued a statement saying that Pakistan stood with Imran and Qureshi “who defended Pakistan and stood for haqeeqi azadi”.
“No such sham trial can change what happened in March-April 2022, on the orders of Donald Lu,” the statement added. “A complete mockery and disregard of the law in the cipher case shall not lead us to forget our primary responsibility in order to provide justice to Imran and Qureshi.”
The party added that its legal team will challenge the decision in a higher court and hopefully will get this sentence suspended. It also hinted at how Islamabad High Court had clearly annuled proceedings twice.
Interestingly, this comes just nine days before the the February 8 general elections, which the PTI is contesting amid a state crackdown and without an electoral symbol. The party also urged the public to come out and vote on February 8.
This comes as PTI faces a possible ban if Khan and other top brass are convicted in the cases relating to the May 9 violent incidents, according to a media reports.
