Pakistan: Imran Khan Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

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Facts

• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his aide — former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi — were both sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday related to allegations of disclosing state secrets.¹
• The ruling came a day after the High Court in Pakistan suspended the conviction and three-year prison sentence of Khan for another alleged crime — that being his alleged failure to declare proceeds from gifts while in office. Monday's judgment ordered Khan's release from prison, though that has been undone by the latest state secrets case.²
• This latest case traces its way back to April 2022 — shortly after Khan lost a confidence vote and was removed from power. He alleged that the US had orchestrated his downfall, proceeding to wave a letter at a campaign event he said proved his assertions.³
• The following year, The Intercept reported on a communication cable regarding a meeting between two US State Department officials and Pakistan's ambassador to the US — it outlined how the US voiced displeasure over Khan's neutral stance on the Ukraine war. They reportedly said that if a no-confidence vote against Khan succeeded, 'all will be forgiven in Washington,' but, if not, 'it will be tough going ahead.'⁴
• While Khan has repeatedly asserted he had no involvement in the release of the document, the court found him guilty of violating the country's Official Secrets Act by misusing the confidential cable.¹
• After what has been described as highly unusual proceedings held in a prison rather than a courtroom — including stipulations that witnesses could not be cross-examined — lawyers for Khan criticized the verdict and said they would bring it to the court of appeals. Meanwhile, Khan and his team maintained that this was a political prosecution aimed at keeping him out of next week's elections.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera (a), ²Al Jazeera (b), ³The Diplomat, ⁴Intercept and ⁵Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by News. While corruption surged under Khan, Pakistan's place in related indexes has been steadily improving since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took power. There is still work to do, but these developments demonstrate why Sharif is the right leader.
• Narrative B, as provided by DAWN.COM. The circumstances under which this verdict was reached were highly unusual, raising legitimate questions about whether Khan received a fair trial and whether any of his other rights were violated. These developments threaten the independence of Pakistan's judiciary, bringing the country closer to totalitarianism.

Predictions