Cricket legend and former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, less than two weeks before the country votes in an election his party has been hamstrung from contesting.
Pakistan goes to the polls next Thursday in an election already marred by allegations of pre-vote rigging, with Khan barred from running and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a massive crackdown.
In the run-up to polling day, Khan has languished in prison, buried under an avalanche of court cases he says have been triggered to prevent his return to office after a campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful military kingmakers.
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Khan has already been disqualified from standing for the February 8 poll on the basis of a graft conviction last year.
Tuesday’s sentence for leaking classified state documents was handed down inside Adiala jail – where Khan has been confined for much of the time since his August arrest.
The verdicts and sentences were confirmed by party officials. PTI lawyers called the trial a travesty, saying they were ousted from the proceedings, denying them fair representation.
“This is unconstitutional, this is against the principles of natural justice,” barrister Salman Safdar told AFP.
Local media also reported the convictions and sentences although state TV did not use Khan’s name, obeying strict censorship measures that have alarmed rights monitors.
“This is a murder of justice,” said Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a human-rights activist and political analyst.
“But his popularity among the people will grow in leaps and bounds as his sympathisers will increase because of this gross injustice.”
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Some 127 million Pakistanis are eligible to vote in next week’s election, with Khan and PTI at the centre of debate despite being squeezed out of the limelight.
Khan was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote, but accused the powerful military establishment of orchestrating the manoeuvre in a US-backed conspiracy.
He also alleged the top brass plotted an assassination bid which wounded him, but failed to provide any evidence of his claims.
Khan was briefly arrested last May, and Islamabad used the resulting unrest to justify a sweeping crackdown on PTI which has seen many senior leaders jailed, defect or go underground.
He moved into politics after a decorated cricket career, which included captaining Pakistan to its maiden World Cup title in 1992.
— AFP
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