Pakistan court indicts jailed ex-PM Imran Khan in state secrets case
By Shahnoor Saqib
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Guilty verdict could bring up to 10 years in prison in a case that reduces Khan’s chances of being released in time to campaign before elections next year.
ment that deals a new blow to his chances of contesting Pakistan’s general election in February.
The charges are related to a classified cable called a cypher sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year that Khan is accused of making public.
mer prime minister has previously said the contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources.
A guilty verdict under the Official Secrets Act could bring up to 10 years in prison, lawyers said.
It is the second time Khan has been indicted on the same charges after a superior court struck down an earlier indictment on technical grounds, saying the correct procedure had not been followed.
A new trial, being conducted in jail on security grounds, is due to begin on Thursday in the presence of his lawyers, family and a few selected journalists.
Khan, 71, has been in jail since he was convicted and sentenced to three years on corruption charges on August 5.
Khan says the cable was proof of a conspiracy by the Pakistani military and US government to topple his government in 2022 after he visited Moscow just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Washington and Pakistan’s military deny the accusations.
