Pakistan Court Indicts Imran Khan in State Secrets Case
The Facts
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aid, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were charged on Wednesday with leaking state secrets — another setback for the jailed politician seeking to run in Pakistan's February general election.
Both pleaded not guilty to the charges, reportedly read out loudly in the Adiala jail courtroom, of making public a classified cable that Pakistan's ambassador to Washington had sent to Islamabad in 2022.
The Spin
Narrative A
It's encouraging for the rule of law in Pakistan that the case against Imran Khan is now being retried. The former prime minister, who claims to be a victim of a US conspiracy, exploited an unoffensive secret cable to fabricate a narrative against the opposition parties and state institutions. By making the document public — and not returning it — Khan indulged in political opportunism with the help of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, willfully damaging US-Pakistan relations and violating the country's laws. It's high time that power-hungry Khan is removed from political life.
Narrative B
The charges against Khan and Qureshi are a farce and politically motivated to prevent the former Prime Minister, who is very popular, from running for office. This explains the haste and lack of transparency in proceedings earlier declared unconstitutional by the Islamabad High Court. Instead of Khan, it should be those who conspired to topple him in 2022 who must stand trial. There is a reason the explicit secret cable must be withheld from the indicted duo — if Khan is convicted, Pakistan is in for troubled times just before the elections.
