In the Toshakhana case, an accountability court handed down a 14-year prison sentence to former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. This decision was made public just one day after a special court, set up under the Official Secrets Act, handed down a 10-year sentence to the PTI founder in connection with the cipher case.
In a case involving the “leaking of state secrets,” a Pakistani court handed down a 10-year prison term to Khan and his associate, the former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. On Tuesday, a Rawalpindi prison’s special court handed down a sentence in the “cypher case,” which revolved around a diplomatic cable that Khan asserted demonstrated a plot to remove him from office in 2022.
Khan was convicted of abusing a sensitive cable sent by a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States by a court formed under the Official Secrets Act. In his repeated denials, Khan has insisted that the paper proves his political opponents, the powerful military, and the US government plotted to have him removed from office as prime minister. Both the United States and the Pakistani military deny the charge.
From August 2018 until his loss in a vote of confidence in the House in April 2022, Khan served as prime minister of Pakistan. He is under trial on various charges and has been in jail since August of last year.
This country’s top opposition leader is facing punishment just one week before the upcoming national elections. According to Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who talked with Al Jazeera, the PTI would protest the court’s ruling. That the trial took place in an “unlawful manner” was his main point. No one would let our attorneys represent Imran Khan. Even calling witnesses to testify against them was out of the question. According to Bukhari, everything that was taking place in the courtroom was an elaborate show.
In the wake of the PTI’s ouster of dozens of party officials and the imprisonment of thousands of party members and supporters, the verdict was swift and severe. The party’s candidates also had to run as independents, and they recently had to let go of their election symbol, the cricket bat. The verdict against Khan and Qureshi will only benefit the ailing party, according to Bukhari.
Several famous people and PTI supporters have been denouncing the decision since yesterday, all the while urging their audiences to cast their ballots for PTI on February 8. Talha Anjum, a rap artist, trash-talked Khan’s political opponents on Tuesday’s X. ” Support Imran and reject everyone else. He tweeted, “Long live Pakistan” in Punjabi; however, the translation was toned down to satisfy editors.
“And my love, you must vote,” singer Hasan Raheem added while sharing his thoughts.
“Nonsense!” actor Armeena Khan remarked on X after sharing the news of Imran’s punishment. The Pakistani court system was and remains an embarrassment. “Ten years for what!?” was another similar tweet by actor Ushna Shah. Is someone joking?
Judges Hasnat Zulqarnain and Humayun Dilawar have spent their whole lives trying to undermine the judiciary, according to guitarist Salman Ahmad, who criticized the judge who handed down the decision. With Pakistan’s rule of law ranking among the world’s worst, why would anyone want to serve as a judge there?
Another tweet he sent out made the accusation that the Pakistani army leader was not speaking for the 240 million Pakistanis. On a baseless charge, a court presided over by the army chief today handed down 10-year sentences to former prime minister Imran Khan and foreign minister SMQ. Encouraging maximum voting turnout on February 8 is Pakistan’s sole option.
“This is just history repeating,” actor Adnan Malik continued. At what point will Pakistan’s internal strife end? A Case of Cryptography
