In Pakistan, a court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party colleague, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, to ten years in prison each. They were found guilty of passing on secret documents, said Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI – Pakistan Movement for Justice). The verdict was handed down by a special court in the prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan is being held.
The opposition PTI said it filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad. Party official and close Khan confidant Zulfi Bukhar told Deutsche Welle that the proceedings were conducted “illegally.” Khan’s lawyers were not allowed to speak on his behalf or cross-examine any witness presented by the prosecution. The information could not be independently verified by DW.
Imran Khan’s supporters demonstrated again in Peshawar on Monday for the 71-year-old’s release. Image: Hussain Ali/ZUMA/picture alliance
The 71-year-old former cricket star Khan, who remains very popular, was removed as prime minister in a vote of no confidence in April 2022. In August 2023 he was sentenced to three years in prison for corruption. A higher authority subsequently ordered his release – but due to the investigation into the current case, Khan must remain in prison. The former head of government rejects the allegations as politically motivated.
Conspiracy involving the military and the USA?
The current proceedings involved, among other things, a telegram which Khan cited as evidence that he had been threatened and that his removal as prime minister was due to a conspiracy involving the Pakistani military and the USA. The US government in Washington and Pakistan’s powerful military reject the allegations
A new parliament will be elected in Pakistan on February 8th. The opposition has been massively weakened. Khan and most PTI candidates were excluded from the election. The party called on its supporters to remain peaceful regardless of recent events.
Prime ministers in Pakistan, which has a population of more than 240 million, are repeatedly dismissed prematurely. The military plays a major role in the rise and fall of politicians in the South Asian country, which is officially a nuclear power. Since the founding of the state in 1947, it has governed itself half of the time.
se/sti (afp, dpa, ap, rtr, dw)