Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court. He was sentenced in a case of leaking state secret information. The hearing of the case was going on inside the jail on Tuesday. Imran was sentenced to 10 years there.
In 2022, Imran Khan was ousted as Prime Minister by his opponents. Imran Khan is already serving a three-year prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption. However, he termed all the allegations as politically motivated.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party vice chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court.
This case is also known as 'Chipper Case' in Pakistan. Chipper- meaning some message written in sign language. Allegedly, one such message sent by the Pakistani ambassador from Washington reached Imran and Qureshi. In which it was written, 'The United States is playing the role of an accomplice to remove Imran from his post.
Imran did not keep the diplomatic message a secret. It is alleged that he leaked the message written in code language. Imran Khan has always said that there was a deep conspiracy to remove him from the post of Prime Minister. Imran Khan was the Prime Minister then.
Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency filed a case against Imran.
Imran and Qureshi are said to have violated the country's privacy laws by making the diplomatic conversations public. Lawyers say subsequent charges could carry life in prison or even the death penalty. The hearing of this case has been going on for the past few months. A special court is conducting the trial inside the prison. Imran Khan has been imprisoned in that jail since August. No international press was allowed there.
Local media reported that the judge was recently asked to finish the trial quickly. Imran Khan's party PTI said they will challenge the court's verdict. Apart from this, they termed this judgment as a mockery. General elections will be held in Pakistan on February 8. Allegations have been raised that PTI is being prevented from campaigning by the authorities. Imran Khan is also fighting many other legal cases.
Source: BBC
