Afghan military officials get 20 years for allegedly handing secrets to Pakistan

Shah Mohammad and Nazirullah were arrested in 2016 for allegedly handing over information to an intelligence agency

KABUL: Two Afghan military officials on Wednesday were jailed for 20 years after a two-year trial for allegedly sharing state secrets with Pakistan.

Shah Mohammad and Nazirullah were arrested in 2016 for allegedly traveling to Pakistan to hand over information to a intelligence agency.

They pleaded not guilty but eventually “confessed to their crime” before the military court in the eastern city of Jalalabad, officials said.

“Each of them has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the primary court,” said Najiburrahman Nadim, a military prosecutor.



Nadim claimed that the accused had shared secret information about attacks and bomb blasts.

Afghanistan’s Western-backed government has long accused Pakistan of harbouring Afghan Taliban insurgents, a charge that Islamabad denies.

A defence lawyer representing the two army officials rejected the court’s verdict, which was delivered on Tuesday.

“My clients were beaten during the investigations and they were forced to confess. We don’t accept the decision and we will appeal,” said Toryalai Muqanen.