Islamabad court nullifies Imran Khan conviction in state secrets leak
Al Jazeera
But Pakistan’s former PM Khan will remain behind bars over another conviction.
Islamabad, Pakistan — A court in Islamabad has annulled the sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aide, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a case related to the leaking of state secrets.
Khan and Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 30 this year by a special court set up in a prison in Rawalpindi, just days before the country’s general elections.
The so-called cypher case pertains to a diplomatic cable that Khan claims proves his allegation that his removal from power in April 2022 was a conspiracy. The court established under the Official Secrets Act found Khan guilty of misusing the confidential cable sent by a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States.
Khan has repeatedly denied the charge, saying the document contained evidence that his removal as prime minister was a plot hatched by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with help from the US administration. Washington and the Pakistani army reject the accusation.
Khan, a former cricket star, was Pakistan’s premier from August 2018 to April 2022, when he lost a vote of confidence in the parliament. He has been in jail since August last year, facing trial in multiple cases.
