Pakistan Ex -Prime Minister Imran Khan Sentenced To 10 Years Imprisonment

Pakistan Ex -Prime Minister Imran Khan Sentenced To 10 Years Imprisonment

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was handed a 10-year prison sentence on Tuesday, less than a fortnight before the country’s upcoming election, in which his party has been restricted from participating.

The sentencing took place at Adiala jail, where Khan has been mostly confined since his arrest in August. He has been facing a barrage of court cases which he claims have been orchestrated to impede his return to office.

Similarly, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the vice-president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and former foreign minister under Khan, received the same sentence.

“Former prime minister Imran Khan and PTI vice-president Qureshi have been sentenced to 10 years each,” a spokesman for the party told AFP.

Reports from state media also confirmed the convictions and sentences.

The case against both individuals revolves around allegations of leaking classified state documents.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and was ousted through a vote of no confidence after losing support from the country’s military powerbrokers.

During his time as opposition leader, he launched an unconventional campaign against the top military leadership, accusing them of engineering his removal in a US-supported conspiracy and planning an assassination attempt that left him injured.

Khan was briefly detained last May, and the subsequent turmoil in Islamabad served as a pretext for a broad crackdown on PTI, resulting in the defection or disappearance of many senior party figures.

“This is murder of justice,” said Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a human right activist and political analyst.

“But his popularity among the people will grow in leaps and bounds as his sympathisers will increase because of this gross injustice.”