Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Tuesday, the newest twist in what’s extensively seen as a marketing campaign by the navy to sideline one in every of its main critics from politics.
The sentence, which was delivered in a case during which Mr. Khan is accused of leaking state secrets and techniques, got here a couple of week earlier than Pakistan is about to go to the polls for the primary nationwide election since he was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022.
Analysts have referred to as the election among the many least credible in Pakistan’s 76-year historical past due to the navy’s widespread crackdown on Mr. Khan and his supporters.
His ouster set off a political showdown between Mr. Khan and the nation’s highly effective navy, which has lengthy been the invisible hand guiding the nation’s politics. Mr. Khan and his supporters have accused navy leaders of orchestrating his elimination — an accusation they deny.
The nation has been embroiled within the political disaster spawned by Mr. Khan’s ouster for a yr and a half. As Mr. Khan and his supporters have railed in opposition to the nation’s generals, public anger on the navy has swelled. In May, hundreds of protesters attacked military installations in scenes that had been as soon as unimaginable in Pakistan.
In response, the navy launched a widespread intimidation campaign aimed toward weakening Mr. Khan’s political celebration, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., and curbing the outstanding political comeback he has made whilst he has been jailed and barred from contesting the nationwide election subsequent week.
The decision on Tuesday was handed down by a particular court docket that was established earlier this yr and that analysts say is extra deferential to the navy’s needs. Mr. Khan has referred to as the trial a “fixed match,” suggesting its end result was predetermined, and his celebration mentioned it might attraction the decision.
“This 10-year sentence won’t stand for 10 days before the appellate courts. Such brazen disregard of law and constitution has never been witnessed before,” Taimur Malik, one of many legal professionals for Mr. Khan, said in a post on X, previously referred to as Twitter.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former international minister and shut aide to Mr. Khan, was additionally handed a 10-year sentence on Tuesday in the identical case.
Salman Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad.
