A Pakistani court refused to grant bail to the detained ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case where he faces allegations of disclosing classified state information, according to his legal counsel.
The accusation revolves around a sensitive cable transmitted to Islamabad by Pakistan’s envoy in the United States last year, which Khan is accused of disclosing.
Khan, previously known as a cricket star, refuted the claims, asserting that the media had already released the contents of the cable from alternative sources.
Lawyer Naeem Panjutha confirmed that the Islamabad High Court dismissed Khan’s bail application and his plea for the case to be dismissed.
“We plan to contest this decision,” he announced on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Imran Khan has been the central figure in several months of political upheaval in Pakistan, shedding light on the influential role of the military in civilian governance in the nuclear-armed nation.
Khan was ousted from power in 2022 following a no-confidence vote in parliament. He contended that the military was attempting to sideline him after a fallout over security appointments with the generals.
The military, which has directly ruled Pakistan for significant periods since the country’s independence in 1947, and has influenced civilian governments at other times, denied any involvement in Khan’s removal.
Khan claimed that the cable he supposedly leaked was evidence of a U.S. conspiracy to persuade the military to oust him during the 2022 parliamentary vote due to his visit to Moscow just before Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. However, both the United States and the Pakistani military have refuted these allegations.
Khan has faced numerous legal cases, which he has denounced as attempts to keep him out of politics. He has already been convicted in one corruption case and sentenced to three years in prison, although the sentence was suspended, he remains incarcerated in connection with other cases.
Due to his conviction, Khan, known for his conservative and nationalist policies that garnered significant public support, is now ineligible to participate in the upcoming general election expected early next year.
