A Pakistani court has re-indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act, as reported by The News International newspaper.
The charges were presented during a public hearing of a special court on the violation of the state secrets law at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
In October, Khan and Qureshi were initially charged with the offense in a closed-door session at Adiala Jail, where prosecution witnesses were examined. However, in November, the Supreme Court of Pakistan deemed the trial on prison grounds illegal and erroneous, leading to its cancellation. Subsequently, the special court resumed the trial, re-indicting the defendants in an open trial accessible to the public and journalists. Despite this, the Government of Pakistan insisted on continuing the trial at Adiala Jail for security reasons.
Individuals found guilty of violating the state secrets law could face a minimum sentence of 14 years in prison or even the death penalty, according to legal experts.
The Federal Investigation Agency alleges that Khan and Qureshi violated the 1923 state secrets law by "using a diplomatic cipher of the Foreign Ministry for political purposes" and "disclosing the contents of a secret document to unauthorized persons for personal gain at the expense of state security interests."
The investigation was initiated after Khan publicly claimed on March 27, 2022, that he had received an encrypted telegram from Pakistan's ambassador to Washington. In this telegram, he asserted that U.S. representatives, in a conversation with the head of the diplomatic mission, "recommended the removal of the prime minister from power due to his pro-Russian stance on Ukraine, as demonstrated during his visit to Moscow in February 2022."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS