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Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan indicted for allegedly revealing official secrets – JURIST

Ousted Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was indicted by a Pakistani court Monday for charges of revealing official secrets. If found guilty, Khan, alongside Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, could face the death sentence.Khan and Qureshi are accused of revealing official secrets following Khan’s removal as Prime Minister in 2022. At a rally in opposition to this, Khan claimed in a speech that a letter he possessed showed that his removal was orchestrated by the US. Since their arrests for these alleged crimes, Khan and Qureshi have been under investigation for the “use of official secret information and illegal retention of a cypher telegram with malafide intention.”PTI, Khan’s political party, condemned the accusations via social media, stating that “Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi are being victimized for standing up for Pakistan’s sovereignty and democracy.” PTI further posted a statement from Khan, who is currently being held at Adiyala Prison as he awaits trial. According to PTI, the party leader stated: “What crime have I committed? There was a conspiracy against me, my government was overthrown! … it is an illegal trial.”Since being removed as Prime Minister in 2022, Khan has faced a series of legal battles. Most recently, in early August, he was found guilty of making false declarations about his assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan and sentenced to three years imprisonment with a 100,000 PKR fine. However, this sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court in late August. Shortly after, Khan was arrested again in relation to charges of revealing official secrets.Khan and Qureshi now await their trial, which is set to begin on Friday at the prison where Khan is being kept. Both men deny all allegations.