After a tough legal battle, a Pakistani court on Monday (June 3) cleared former Prime Minister Imran Khan of charges related to his handling of a confidential intelligence document, known as a Cipher within the Pakistani government. The Cipher case involves the revelation of a secret cable sent in 2022 by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to Islamabad. It reportedly gave details of a meeting between the Pak envoy and US officials, who wanted Imran Khan’s ouster from office.
A special court sentenced Imran Khan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years in jail for making the document public by waving a paper copy of it at a political rally. They were found guilty of disclosing the classified cable. Khan’s acquittal by Islamabad High Court is a significant win for the former PM and his supporters.
This ruling came soon after his sentence on another corruption charge was suspended. The ruling leaves Khan in jail on one specific charge—Khan and his third wife, Bushra Bibi, were said to have had a marriage against Islamic norms. Bibi and Khan are serving a seven-year term in jail on this count.
During the hearing, and in its ruling, the court examined the details of Bushra Bibi’s menstrual cycle. It rejected her claim that three cycles had passed between her divorce and marriage to Khan, instead relying on the testimony of her ex-husband. Bibi’s first husband, Khawar Maneka, filed the case and claimed that she had violated the Islamic tenet of followin.