Imran Khan Handed 10 Year Sentence

A special court in Pakistan has sentenced Imran Khan, former prime minister and captain of the cricket team to ten years in jail. His charges revolve around the supposed failure to surrender a diplomatic document after his removal from the Prime Minister’s office in 2022. Imran Khan was arrested in August 2023 on a separate charge and although his sentence on this charge has been temporarily suspended, he was not released.

Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a prominent person in Imran’s political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were sentenced for ten years each after special court proceedings while facing charges under the Official Secrets Act, an old British law. The PTI’s official Twitter account condemned the verdict, calling it a “a sham trial and a complete mockery and disregard of law.”

Imran Khan always claims that his removal by a vote of no confidence was arranged by the United States. He argues that the disputed document provides evidence of American diplomatic pressure that led to his removal from power. This narrative picked up when The Intercept, a US news organization, published an article claiming that it had access to the classified document, saying that the US State Department threatened Pakistan of isolation unless Imran was removed from power with forgiveness promised when he was out.

The recent development takes place just nine days prior to Pakistan’s General Elections 2024. Although opinion polling has been scarce, recent independent polls indicate that Imran Khan is still the most popular politician in the country with a huge support.