According to reports from local media outlets, a court in Pakistan has drafted accusations against former Prime Minister Imran Khan for allegedly leaking the contents of a diplomatic cable to the public in order to indicate that his removal from power last year was the result of a conspiracy headed by the United States and the powerful military of the South Asian country.
According to Khan’s lawyer Shoaib Shaheen, a special court judge indicted his client and his foreign minister at the time, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for violating the Official Secrets Act by leaking a classified cable that was transmitted from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington to Islamabad at the beginning of last year.
The cable was sent from Islamabad to Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington.
Both individuals disputed the claims, claiming that there was a political motivation behind the charges against them. According to Shaheen, the next hearing is set to take place on October 27, and during that hearing, witnesses will be brought for statements and cross-questioning.
The hearings of the court were carried out in a jail located outside of Islamabad, which is where Khan is being jailed in connection with the case involving the secret cable.
Khan is facing a maximum of 14 years in prison if he is proven guilty, which will make it difficult for him to run in the elections that are set to take place in late January. This is the second time that Khan has been indicted.
In August, the former cricket star was found guilty in a case involving corruption, which resulted in him being prohibited from standing for public office for a period of five years.
Khan was able to persuade a higher court to stay the execution of his three-year prison term, despite the fact that he is currently being investigated for more than 170 separate crimes, ranging from murder to terrorism.
In the days leading up to the vote of no confidence, Pakistan’s leading investigative agency brought a case against Khan and Qureshi for leaking the contents of the cable as evidence of a plot orchestrated by the United States to remove the former leader from power.
Khan’s assertions were refuted by the United States government, Pakistan’s armed forces, and opposition figures at the time.
Despite being removed from office in April 2022 and being imprisoned this year, Khan continues to be the most popular leader in Pakistan.
According to a Gallup poll that was conducted in June and published last month, the outspoken politician has the support of sixty percent of Pakistan’s population, which is about double the ratings that were given to Shehbaz Sharif when he took over as prime minister.
Nawaz Sharif, Sharif’s older brother and a former three-time prime minister, will return to Pakistan this week, and Sharif expects his arrival to galvanise the party and win over people in advance of the election that will take place in the following year.
According to the results of the survey, the older Sharif has the support of 36% of Pakistanis.
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