Imran Khan supporters rally with the ex-prime minister's picture. File photo.
A special Pakistani court set up in a prison in Rawalpindi sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years in prison on 30 January for “leaking official secrets” in proceedings that were conducted behind closed doors.
“Our lawyers were not allowed to represent Imran Khan. They were not even allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. What was unfolding in the court was merely a charade and a sham,” Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told Al-Jazeera.
“This was pretty much a writing on the wall,” he added, stressing that the trial was held in an “unlawful manner.”
Khan’s ally, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The sentence was issued as part of the so-called cypher case, which pertains to a diplomatic cable that shows the US State Department encouraged Pakistani officials to oust Khan from office over his neutrality on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Khan revealed the existence of this cable in early 2022, mere weeks before a parliamentary removed him from office.
US Helped Pakistan Get IMF Bailout With Secret Arms Deal for Ukraine, Leaked Documents Reveal
Since then, Khan has been slapped with over 150 legal cases. He was also arrested twice, charged with “terrorism,” banned from broadcasting his speeches, and even survived an assassination attempt.
The special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, found Khan guilty on Tuesday, January 30, of “misusing the confidential cable” that a former Pakistani ambassador sent to the US.
The conviction against Pakistan’s most popular political figure comes just nine days before crucial elections in which the PTI has been banned from using its party symbol. Pakistani authorities also recently ordered journalists and television news channels not to mention Khan’s party in their election coverage.
Pakistani media was already barred from reporting Khan’s speeches or rallies on TV.
“With the sentence coming at a time when elections are less than 10 days away, it will only motivate our supporters and make them come out in droves. It looks like the authorities want to suppress the PTI and its voter base, but their acts will only drive us to vote in bigger numbers,” Bukhari added.
