A Pakistani court convicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday for exposing government secrets and sentenced him to ten years in prison, just days before parliamentary elections, as reported by the Associated Press.
Khan, who was removed in a 2022 no-confidence vote, is not on the ballot since he is already serving a three-year jail sentence and has over 150 additional charges pending against him.
Largely due to his grassroots support and anti-establishment rhetoric, the former cricketer is a formidable political force, however, despite his legal troubles.
Pakistan has experienced violent protests following Khan’s imprisonment last year, and authorities have clamped down on the Islamist politician’s fans and party since then, making them apprehensive of mounting new gatherings.
The February 8 elections take place at a difficult moment in Pakistan, which is grappling with an economic crisis that Khan’s successor, Shehbaz Sharif, has failed to manage.
Sharif only received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund after consenting to a significant increase in gas and electricity bills, which resulted in dramatic price increases for everyday products and made his party unpopular.
Khan was convicted in what became known as the cipher case, in which he was accused of revealing state secrets by waving a sensitive paper at a rally.
The paper has not been made public, but it is thought to be official correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador in Washington and the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.
Khan alleged the paper proved that he was being threatened and that his removal was a U.S. plan carried out by Pakistan’s military and administration.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior party official accused of changing the contents of a diplomatic cable to obtain political benefit, was also convicted and sentenced to ten years.