The court ruled to ban Khan from holding any public office for a period of 10 years, which constitutes a setback for him and his party ahead of the elections (French)

The Pakistani Interior Minister announced - Thursday - that the Pakistani elections will be held on time, while a detailed court ruling stated that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leaking of a secret telegram harmed the country economically, politically and diplomatically, after a court ruled - last Tuesday - to imprison him for 10 years.

The Interior Minister's announcement to confirm the election date came after the country's electoral authority held a meeting with government and intelligence officials to discuss the escalation of violence.

Caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ijaz said, “The elections will be held on February 8,” stressing that the series of attacks in the Balochistan province in the southwest of the country, where Islamabad has been facing a decades-long insurgency, do not constitute a “security threat,” and that they will provide appropriate security. For elections.

Last Tuesday, police announced that at least four people were killed in a bomb explosion in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan, near an election rally for the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which was founded by Imran Khan.

On Wednesday, independent candidate Rehan Zeb Khan, supported by the PTI, was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Kashif Zulfiqar, a police officer in the region, said, "The killing of Rehan Zeb is a premeditated killing aimed at causing chaos during the elections."

A senior officer in the Counter-Terrorism Department confirmed to Agence France-Presse that 15 political figures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have faced death threats from militants over the past two months.

Khan called on voters to take revenge against injustice by voting in the February 8 elections (Reuters - Archive)

Secret leaks harm the country

On the other hand, a detailed court ruling issued Thursday stated that Imran Khan’s leaking of a secret diplomatic cable caused economic, political and diplomatic damage to the country.

Last Tuesday, a special court held in Adiala Prison - where Khan has been held most of the time since his arrest in August - convicted Khan on charges of divulging state secrets, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison and deprived him of holding public office during that period, which represents a setback for him and his party before the general elections. .

“It is clear that Pakistan faced serious economic, diplomatic and political consequences due to the violations committed by Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, which in turn weakened the country’s economy and negatively affected national security,” the ruling said.

The case relates to a secret telegram sent by the Pakistani ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad, in which Khan was accused of publishing and misusing its contents, and the court convicted him of 4 charges under the State Secrets Act.

Khan - who enjoys massive popular support in Pakistan - said that the telegram was evidence of a conspiracy hatched by the Pakistani army and the American government to overthrow his government in 2022, and the United States and the Pakistani army denied the accusation.

After the ruling was issued against him, Khan told voters in a statement published on his account on the X platform, “You must avenge every injustice by voting on February 8,” adding, “Tell them that you are not a herd that can be led with a stick.”

Source: Agencies