STORY: ::File
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been acquitted of charges of leaking state secrets by a high court.
That’s according to his lawyer and his party on Monday (June 3).
Khan will remain in prison for now due to a conviction in another case.
::File
Khan had been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a lower court on charges of making public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington in 2022.
He has been in jail since August last year.
He had challenged the conviction in Islamabad High Court.
It said in an order on Monday that an “instant appeal is allowed.”
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khan’s foreign minister during his tenure from 2018-2022, was also acquitted of the charges.
It is seen as a major victory for the jailed former leader.
Aleema Khan is his sister.
“It was such an embarrassing case for Pakistan, and I’m really glad that the judiciary sort of came to a conclusion and they buried the charges and declared the ex-prime minister and the ex-foreign minister innocent.”
::File
Khan has been at odds with the country’s powerful military, accusing it of targeting him and his party.
The military denies this and has called for Khan and his supporters to be tried for attacking state installations during violent protests against Khan’s initial arrest last year.
The government said prosecutors were awaiting the detailed decision before deciding if they would appeal against the acquittal in the Supreme Court.
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