Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets.

The decision was announced by special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during a hearing held at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Khan’s former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also given a 10-year jail sentence as part of the cipher case.

It was alleged that Khan had shared the contents of a secret cable sent by the country’s ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad.

The sentence comes as the country prepares to hold elections on 8 February.

Khan, a former-cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted as prime minister through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.

The 71-year-old, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been in jail since August 2023 on corruption charges which he says are politically motivated.

Pakistan has seen violent demonstrations since after Khan’s May 2023 arrest. Authorities have cracked down on his supporters and party since then.

Khan’s party said they would challenge the decision and called it a “sham case”.

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