Main content

Why Imran Khan has been jailed and what it means for the election

A court in Pakistan has sentenced the former prime minister Imran Khan to ten years in prison for leaking diplomatic correspondence.

The sentence comes ahead of next week's general election, in which he is banned from standing.

The sentence is the latest development in a long-running battle between the former cricket star and the authorities.

He has denied the charges.

Newshour's Owen Bennett Jones is a former 主播大秀 Pakistan correspondent and the author of The Bhutto Dynasty: The Struggle for Power in Pakistan. He says "All legal cases like this... are basically designed to manipulate the political situation."

(Image: File photo of Imran Khan speaking to Reuters on 17 March 2023. Credit: REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo)

Release date:

Duration:

4 minutes