A special court in Pakistan sentenced the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, to 10 years in prison after being convicted of leaking state secrets, just days before the country's general elections.
The special court convicted Khan of leaking secret correspondence between Pakistan's ambassador in Washington and the government in Islamabad, Khan's Tahreek-e-Insaf party told Reuters.
The former foreign minister, Shah Mahmoud Qureshi, was also sentenced to ten years in prison on the same charges.
The former prime minister of Pakistan was sent to prison for ten years
Khan's party announced that it would appeal the decision.
"We will not accept the illegal ruling in this," said Khanaf's lawyer Naim Panjotha.
Khan's aide, Zulfikar Bukhari, told Reuters that the defense had not been given any opportunity to meaningfully defend him or cross-examine prosecution witnesses and that some of the proceedings were conducted in prison.
Bukhari said that the purpose of the procedure is to damage the popularity of Khan, who is considered one of the most popular leaders in the country, despite his frequent conflicts with senior military and judicial officials.
"The people will make sure to show what they think and will only come to vote for us in larger numbers," Buhari told Reuters.
Demonstrators for Imran Khan in Islamabad, photo: AFP
In the party of Khan's opponent, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, they argued that Khan's punishment was not severe enough in relation to the acts he was convicted of.
Ahsan Iqbal, a close associate of Sharif, said in an interview with a local television network that: "I think that relying on Khan's negligence and crime when it comes to important national interests, this is a very light sentence."
Khan was elected Prime Minister in 2018 and has since become one of the most admired and hated politicians in the country.
Khan, a well-known former cricketer, combines populist views with nods to Islamism and nationalism while challenging the Islamic state's long-standing centers of power.
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