Pakistan Supreme Court indicts ex-PM Imran Khan over classified document leak

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has been indicted for allegedly leaking classified documents, a charge prosecutors say that carries a prison term of up to 14 years.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a news conference at his home, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, 18 May, 2023. Pakistani police kept up their siege around the home of Khan as a 24-hour deadline given to the former premier to hand over suspects allegedly sheltered inside expired. AP - K.M. Chaudary

Since being ousted from power last year, Khan has been entangled in a slew of legal cases that he maintains are designed to stop him from contesting elections in January 2024, while his party has faced a massive crackdown.

On Monday, Pakistan's Supreme Court also ruled that military tribunals could not be used to try his supporters accused of rioting earlier this year.

Khan was jailed in August for three years over corruption charges, but when his sentence was overturned, he was instead remanded in custody on the far more serious charge of sharing state documents.

Shah Khawar of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) declared outside the Adiala Jail, where Khan is being held, "He has been indicted today and the charge was openly read out."

The case relates to a cable that Khan touted as proof that he was ousted as part of a US conspiracy backed by the powerful military establishment, according to a report by the FIA.

Both the United States and Pakistan's military have denied the claim.

BREAKING: Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan formally charged with leaking official diplomatic cables; can get 10 years of jail time if the charges get proven in court.#PTI #ImranKhanPTI @ImranKhanPTI #Pakistan #PakistanCricket #PPP#pakarmy @PakPMO @PakArmyAR pic.twitter.com/wJkR3ajN7y

— THE ANALYTICS POST (@THEANALYTICSPO1) October 23, 2023

Former foreign minister and vice-chairman of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has also been indicted over the case.

A PTI spokesman said both men were charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act in a trial "conducted within the court premises with no access to public or media."

Khan's lawyer Umar Khan Niazi told reporters that they "are going to challenge" the court's decision.

Khan's lawyers say the crime he has been charged with carries a possible 14-year prison term, and in the most extreme circumstances, the death penalty.

• Pakistan opposition warns arrest of former PM Khan would 'cross red line'

Khan tangled up

More than 100 people were due to be tried in Pakistan's military courts over riots that erupted after Khan was briefly arrested in May, some of which targeted army installations.

PTI lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters, "Under the Supreme Court verdict, all the cases – which were being tried in the military courts – cannot proceed. They could only be held in the civilian courts.

"Today's verdict is highly significant and it will help strengthen the constitution, law, and the civilian institutions of the country."

Any election without #ImranKhan #PTI in #Pakistan will have no legitimacy. There will be zero trust in the system,hence no investment,no remittance,massive brain drain, & no business developments,no GDP growth.

The establishment will be just digging their own grave even deeper.

— Ahsan Khan of Occupied Pakistan (@Love___Pakistan) October 22, 2023

Former cricketing superstar Khan enjoys enormous support in Pakistan but his campaign of defiance against the powerful military was met with fierce backlash by the authorities.

Almost the entire senior party leadership was forced underground, with many abandoning the PTI altogether.

• Pakistan sentences former president Musharraf to death for treason

Former PM Nawaz Sharif returns

Pakistan's military has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 76-year history, and continues to exercise enormous power.

The country is currently led by an interim government, with scheduled elections already pushed back several months.

Khan's primary opponent, three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, returned to Pakistan on Saturday, ending four years of self-imposed exile. 

Sharif was jailed for graft and barred from contesting the 2018 elections – in which Khan swept to power – but he left mid-way through his sentence to receive medical care in the United Kingdom, ignoring court orders to return.

Prior to his comeback, a court granted Sharif protective bail to pave the way for him to arrive in his political heartland of Lahore at the weekend.