A Pakistan court on Tuesday gave a 10-year prison term to former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for leaking confidential state information in what has come to be known as the “cipher case”.
It was also another blow to Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022 and is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a graft case.
The diplomatic cable, based on then envoy Asad Majeed’s meeting with US State Department official Donald Lu, was at the center of PTI’s claim that the US administration conspired with elements in Pakistan to dislodge Khan.
Imran Khan’s party PTI said in a statement that it stands with Khan and Qureshi, “who defended Pakistan and stood for real independence.” PTI described the proceedings as a “sham trial” and said the judge did not even allow Khan and Qureshi’s lawyers to defend them.