Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in cipher case

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a cipher case.

This case involves charges that Imran Khan made public the contents of a secret letter (cipher). Imran received that cipher from the Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed in Washington.

#Pakistani court sentences former Prime Minister #ImranKhan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years in jail. https://t.co/1ln52t7nbC
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) January 30, 2024

Special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail announced this verdict in front of both PTI leaders. Judge Abul Hasnat has held hearings on the case in Adiala Jail since it began last year. The Pakistani interim government established the special court under the Official Secrets Act 2023.

Judge Abul ruled that the prosecution has enough evidence to prove the crime of Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood to leak sensitive cipher details to the public. Hence, a special court has sentenced Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act.

However, both leaders had appealed not guilty to the charge of allegedly misusing diplomatic cipher for political reasons. Before announcing the verdict, Judge Abul warned the PTI leaders that their lawyers would not be appearing in court and would be replaced by state lawyers.

The court has also provided a questionnaire form under section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code to Imran and Qureshi. However, they claimed that they would not sign the questionnaire in the absence of their lawyers.

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Meanwhile, Judge Abul informed them that state lawyers were present in the courtroom. He instructed both to sign the form following careful consultation with their state lawyers.

The judge then asked the two whether they would sign the form. Imran Khan replied he first wanted to discover what it was. He intended to dictate his response personally.

Following that, Judge Abul said it is good that you want to dictate your response. Afterward, Imran Khan recorded his statement and claimed he did not know the cipher was in office.

This is the second conviction of Imran Khan in recent months. He already received a three-year imprisonment for corrupt practices of selling state gifts in the Toshakhana case.