Pakistani Top Court Acquits Former PM Imran Khan In Cipher Case, Remains In Jail For Illegal Marriage. Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in the cipher case related to leaking state secrets. Earlier this year, Khan and the former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were given 10-year jail sentences by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, told a press conference that the just verdict has now come in. He said the banner of justice was held high and the baseless case, in which Khan spent around 10 months in jail, was eliminated. The barrister added that Pakistan will soon see their leader, Khan, outside.
Meanwhile, Khan is to stay in jail for the iddat case related to his marriage with his third wife Bushra Khan, which has been deemed illegal and not in line to Islamic traditions.
What Was the Cipher Case About?
The lower court had sentenced Khan, 71, to 10 years in jail for allegedly making a classified cable sent by a Pakistani ambassador in Washington 2022 to Islamabad, public. Khan alleged that this was an attempted by the American government to topple Pakistan’s PTI –led government two years ago. Qureshi was also indicted in the case and like Khan, he also pleaded not guilty.
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Azam Khan, the former principal secretary, told the special court in January that the diplomatic document never reached his office. In an ensuing hearing, the former PM said the cipher was still with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that he had only been handed a rephrased version of the diplomatic cable.
Acquitting the two, the IHC described the government’s notification for a jail term ‘erroneous’ and scrapped the proceedings. This comes after Justice Aurangzeb found ‘legal errors’ in the case and restrained the special court from proceedings against Khan and Qureshi in January.
Why Did the US Want Imran Khan Out?
According to various reports and sources, the US was not very happy with the Pakistan government’s stand on the Ukraine war. Moreover, Washington and Europe were left redfaced when Khan told a political rally that Pakistan was not any one’s slave. The former PM told the crowd of supporters Pakistan was friends with Russia, as well as the US, China, and Europe.
He highlighted that Pakistan was not part of any alliance. Europe and the US were troubled by Khan’s neutral stance on Ukraine. Furthermore, a US official warned the Pakistan government that it would be marginalized by the Western allies and isolated. However, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that their statements or standings didn’t mean or highlight who and who shouldn’t be the leader of Pakistan.
