Imran Khan, a former prime minister of Pakistan, was remanded in custody on Wednesday due to a case involving leaked documents, prolonging his captivity despite the suspension of his sentence for corruption the day before.
Since being removed from power last year, Khan has become embroiled in a number of judicial proceedings that he claims are politically motivated.
“Imran Khan’s judicial remand in the Cipher case has been extended for 14 days,” Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar told AFP after the hearing.
Tuesday saw the suspension of Khan’s three-year prison sentence for graft, which was handed down early in August and prevented him from running in the upcoming elections.
But after apprehending him on suspicion of leaking secret government secrets, authorities kept him in custody at Attock prison, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Islamabad.
“This constitutes a manipulation of justice,” Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen, another of Khan’s lawyers, said Tuesday.
Only lawyers were present at the hearing on Wednesday since it was conducted under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.
According to a report by the government’s Federal Investigation Agency, the case involves a wire that Khan had cited as evidence that he was removed as part of a US conspiracy backed by the establishment.
The assertion has been refuted by the military of Pakistan and the United States.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former foreign minister and vice chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was also detained in connection with this case.
