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       Imran Khan Sentenced to 10 Years Ahead of Pakistan’s Elections

       The verdict is widely seen as part of a military-led campaign to sideline Mr. Khan’s political party.

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       Imran Khan in court in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2023. Credit...Arif Ali/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By Christina Goldbaum

       Reporting from Lahore, Pakistan

       Jan. 30, 2024Updated 7:26 a.m. ET

       Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday, the latest twist in what is widely seen as a campaign by the military to sideline one of its leading critics.

       The sentence, delivered in a case in which Mr. Khan is accused of leaking state secrets, came about a week before Pakistan is set to head to the polls for the first national election since he was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022.

       Analysts have called the election among the least credible in Pakistan’s 76-year history because of the military’s widespread crackdown on Mr. Khan and his supporters.

       His ouster set off a political showdown between Mr. Khan, 71, and the powerful military — long the invisible hand guiding the country’s politics — that has left Pakistan in crisis for a year and a half. Mr. Khan and his supporters have accused military leaders of orchestrating his removal — an accusation they deny.

       As Mr. Khan and his backers have railed against the country’s generals, his popularity has remained high and public anger at the military has swelled. In May, hundreds of protesters attacked military installations in scenes that were once unimaginable in Pakistan.

       More on Pakistan Imran Khan Corruption Case: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the latest twist in what is widely seen as a campaign by the military to sideline one of its leading critics. A Rejected Ban: Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturned a law that barred politicians with past convictions from seeking political office, in a move that paves the way for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run in parliamentary elections in February. Growing Tension: Since Pakistan directed all undocumented foreigners to leave the country, a move that has primarily affected Afghans, violence in the border area with Afghanistan has been on the rise.

       In response, the military launched a widespread intimidation campaign aimed at weakening Mr. Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., and curbing the remarkable political comeback he has made even as he has been jailed in several legal cases and barred from contesting the national election next week.

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       Christina Goldbaum is the Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief for The Times. More about Christina Goldbaum

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