Pakistani court has sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years for exposing official secrets, his party said.
The decision was announced by special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain on Tuesday at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi in the presence of both the PTI leaders, Pakistan's Geo News reported.
The judge has been holding hearings of the case in Adiala Jail since it started last year.
Before announcing the verdict, Judge Zulqarnain, during the hearing, reminded the PTI leaders that their lawyers were not appearing in court and were given state lawyers.
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The matter, also known as the cipher case, pertains to accusations that Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi violated the country's secret laws by mishandling a diplomatic document sent by the Pakistan embassy in March of the previous year.
The Federal Investigation Agency's charge sheet claimed that Khan failed to return the document. The PTI argued that the document contained a US threat to remove Imran Khan as the prime minister.
Pakistan's Supreme Court granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in December, 2023, and also to his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
Despite the bail, Imran Khan remained in jail due to his conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.
