Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption, another setback for the beleaguered leader who has already spent over 18 months in jail and is facing more than 100 cases.
Khan, who remains the country’s most popular political figure, has maintained that the cases against him are part of a “political witchunt” to keep him out of power. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) governed from 2018 to 2022 but he was toppled from office after losing the support of the country’s powerful military. He subsequently embarked on a public spat with the army leadership, accusing them of involvement in a plan to assassinate him.
Since his arrest he has faced a mounting number of cases, including murder, terrorism, and breaching national security. Khan was convicted in three cases, including for selling state secrets and illegal marriage, but they were later overturned or suspended last year. However, he has remained in prison.
I don’t anything about the guy but on a surface level, Pakistan can imprison a corrupt leader and the US can’t? We’re so pathetic these days.
No I don’t think you understand. He isn’t corrupt. The military basically controls the government in Pakistan and they didn’t like him and tried to remove him from power. They even shot him in the leg. Imran Khan was democratically elected and is very popular. The government has had to make huge efforts to censor the media to keep the uproar at bay. Its banned on the news to mention Imran Khan.
You’re right, I don’t understand which is why I put the disclaimers. Military control of government doesn’t seem to be an uncommon thing in the middle east.