Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced 10-year jail term in cipher case

A Pakistan court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to 10 years in jail after he was found guilty of violating the nation’s Official Secrets Act after he made a diplomatic cable public when he was in power.

The order was handed down on Tuesday, January 30, by special court judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, and it was informed that former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has also been convicted for 10 years in the same. It is also worth noting that Imran Khan can appeal the verdict in a higher court.

Besides, the case is about the time when the former Pakistan PM shared the contents of a cable sent by the country's ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad. The PTI took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to talk about how Pakistan stands with Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

“Pakistan stands with Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood 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, InshAllah Kaptaan and Vice Kaptaan will be back soon, and this sentence will be in a dustbin in the appeal stage,” the PTI tweeted.

This is not a trial but a fixed match: Imran Khan

Both were indicted in the case in October 2023 but had pleaded not guilty. The High Court of Islamabad talked of the government’s notification for a jail trial and scrapped the proceedings. After the scrapping and the bringing up of the case once again, Imran Khan made his thoughts known about the matter and opined that the trial was like a fixed match whose outcome was already pre-decided.

“This is not a trial but a fixed match whose outcome was predetermined by the characters and planners of the London Plan and their seals. That is why I already know the decision of this case, [Translated via Google]” Imran tweeted on his 'X' handle.