Islamabad court nullifies Imran Khan conviction in state secrets leak

But former PM Khan will remain behind bars because of another conviction.

Islamabad, Pakistan — A court in Islamabad has annulled the sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aide, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a case related to the leaking of state secrets.

Khan and Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 30 this year by a special court set up in a prison in Rawalpindi, just days before the country’s general elections.

The so-called cypher case pertains to a diplomatic cable that Khan claims proves his allegation that his removal from power in April 2022 was a conspiracy. The court established under the Official Secrets Act found Khan guilty of misusing the confidential cable sent by a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States.

Khan has repeatedly denied the charge, saying the document contained evidence that his removal as prime minister was a plot hatched by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with help from the US administration. Washington and the Pakistani army reject the accusation.

Khan, a former cricket star, was Pakistan’s premier from August 2018 to April 2022, when he lost a vote of confidence in the parliament. He has been in jail since August last year, facing trial in multiple cases.

However, despite the Islamabad High Court declaring the sentence void, Khan continues to remain behind bars due to his conviction in another case. On February 3, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to seven years when a court in Rawalpindi declared that their marriage in 2018 violated Islamic law.

It is not yet clear whether Qureshi will be allowed to walk out of jail or not.

Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a senior leader of Khan’s