A Pakistan court has handed Imran Khan a 10-year jail term the harshest sentence against the former prime minister for leaking state secrets only days before a national election.
A special court found Khan guilty of making public the contents of a secret cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad.
The jail term is the second conviction for Khan in recent months, and ensures the popular politician will remain in jail, and out of the public spotlight, ahead of next week’s parliamentary vote which will also lead to the nomination of a new prime minister.
The court was due to issue its written verdict later.
His lawyer Naeem Panjutha and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it would challenge the verdict, describing it as an illegal decision.
Khan aide Zulfikar Bukhari also told newsmen that the legal team was given no chance to represent the former prime minister or cross examine witnesses, adding that the proceedings were carried out in jail.
Meanwhile Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also sentenced to 10 years in the same case.
