Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, top aide get 10-year jail in state secrets case
Khan and his deputy Shah Mehmood Qureshi sentenced in so-called cypher case, about a week before the February 8 general elections. Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistan court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aide, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, to 10 years jail in a case related to the leaking of state secrets. The special court set up in a prison in Rawalpindi on Tuesday announced the sentence in the so-called cypher case, which pertains to a diplomatic cable that Khan claims proves his allegation that his removal from power in 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 powerful military, with help from t...