Global Courant
The former leader, who was deposed in a vote of no confidence in April 2022, faces a possible prison sentence of 14 years.
A Pakistani court has charged Imran Khan with leaking state secrets, according to reports. The indictment adds to the enormous amount of legal turmoil the former prime minister has faced since resigning in April 2022.
“He has been charged today and the charges have been read openly,” Shah Khawar of the Federal Investigation Agency said outside Adiala Prison in Islamabad, where Khan is being held, Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV reported on Monday.
Khan’s former deputy, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has also been charged in the state secrets case.
A spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) party said the men had been charged in a closed-door trial under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, adding that the ruling would be “disputed” become.
Legal unrest
Khan, who led Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, is accused of leaking a diplomatic letter between Washington and Islamabad that he says highlights the role of the United States in forcing him out of office. The US and Pakistan have denied the claim.
Khan, a former cricket star turned politician with a large support base in the South Asian state, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022 over allegations of economic mismanagement.
His downfall came after he fell out with the country’s powerful military establishment and tried to dissolve parliament, an act the country’s Supreme Court ruled was unconstitutional. Since then, he has faced a slew of criminal charges – in cases ranging from terrorism to contempt of court to blasphemy.
Despite his removal – and the criminal charges – Khan has retained strong popular support. After he was briefly imprisoned in May 2023, his supporters took to the streets in nationwide protests that sometimes turned into violence.
A supporter of Khan throws stones at police during a protest against the PTI leader’s arrest, in Peshawar, May 10, 2023 (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)
The Pakistani military responded with a fierce crackdown, rounding up thousands of Khan’s supporters and forcing almost the entire PTI leadership underground. Many have now left the party.
In August, Khan was convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison. Although that charge was later stayed, he remained behind bars pending the court’s ruling on his state secret charges. He is also banned from participating in the upcoming elections in January 2024.
Khan’s latest charge of leaking confidential information carries a much harsher penalty of 14 years in prison and, in extreme cases, the death penalty, his lawyers say.
From prison, Khan has said he is “stronger than ever” and lashed out at his opponents who he says are trying to drive him off the political stage for good.
Chairman Imran Khan’s message to the people of Pakistan shared through his family on October 10:
“When I was illegally detained in Attock Prison, the first few days were extremely challenging. I didn’t get a bed and had to sleep on the floor and had insects…
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 12, 2023
“Don’t give up,” Khan told his supporters in a statement earlier this month. Continue to raise your voice at every forum against this unelected predatory group and their enablers and continue to demand fair and transparent elections in the country.”
On Saturday, Khan’s main political rival, three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, returned to Pakistan, ending four years of self-imposed exile as he attempts a comeback in the January 2024 elections. Although Sharif has also been barred from contesting elections , analysts believe there will likely be legal hurdles DELETED as part of a backroom deal between his party and the military.
