ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court on Tuesday for leaking state secrets, in a major blow to his bid to return to power in the February 8 general election.
The decision to sentence Imran and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was announced by Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during a hearing of the case held at the special court in Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi.
The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician is already serving a three-year jail term after being convicted of corruption. Imran’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has faced numerous troubles starting with the denial of its election symbol, the cricket bat, to the rejection of nomination papers of Imran, Qureshi (67) and a number of other party leaders.