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Pakistani Court Charges Imran Khan for Leaking State Secrets: Media

18:43, 13 December 2023
© Sputnik / Alexander Shcherbak
Swapna Nair
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Several media outlets have reported that a Pakistani court has indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of leaking state secrets.
Sputnik
A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of revealing state secrets, several media outlets reported, dealing a further blow to the jailed leader's prospects of contesting next year's election.
In a social media post, the lawyer of Khan's deputy, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was also reportedly charged in the case, refuted media reports that the two political figures had been charged.

Khan is accused of leaking a secret 'cable' sent to Islamabad last year by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, which is the subject of the indictment.

Media outlets across Pakistan reported that he had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Khan has said in the past that information from the cable was leaked to the media by various sources.

A conviction for official secrets could carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison or even the death penalty, according to legal advisers.

Khan Faces Repeated Charges

Khan has been charged twice for the same offences after a previous indictment was quashed by a higher court on procedural grounds due to improper protocol.

Khan claims the 'cable' is evidence of a plot by the Pakistani military and the US government to overthrow his government in 2022, following his visit to Moscow just before the conflict in Ukraine.

The charismatic cricket player, who made the transition to politics, emerged victorious in the last general election in 2018. Khan has been the target of numerous court cases, which he has dismissed as attempts to remove him from the political scene. He was found guilty in a bribery case and sentenced to three years in prison.

Although his sentence was suspended, he remains behind bars on other charges, including inciting violence and a case involving official secrets. Khan's conviction in the bribery case also bars him from running for office, but his legal team is fighting for his release on bail and for the ban to be lifted.

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