A special court under the Official Secrets Act on Monday indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi of involvement in the cipher case.
The case revolves around a diplomatic document that reportedly disappeared from Imran’s possession. The PTI claims that the document contained a threat from the United States to remove Imran from his position.
Earlier, the PTI chief was sentenced to three years in prison in the Toshakhana graft case on August 5. Although the IHC suspended his sentence on August 29, he remained in jail due to judicial remand in the cipher case.
On September 30, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted a charge sheet in the special court, naming Qureshi as the primary accused in the cipher case. The court had initially planned to indict the two PTI leaders on October 17 but postponed the indictment until the recent hearing.
During the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail today, Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain initiated the trial and scheduled the testimony of witnesses for the next hearing on October 27.
FIA Special Prosecutor Shah Khawar, addressing the media, confirmed that the indictment was read in court as planned. He mentioned that both PTI leaders were present and that further proceedings were postponed until October 27, when witnesses would be presented.
Conversely, Advocate Umair Niazi, representing the PTI chairman, stated that his client denied the allegations and would contest the court’s decision in the high court. He highlighted Imran’s questioning of the charges against him, alleging a conspiracy to overthrow his government and a lack of concrete evidence.
Niazi also brought up the so-called “London plan,” suggesting that it aimed to undermine the PTI. He added that Imran believed that Nawaz Sharif was colluding with the authorities and that fairness in the legal process was compromised.
Advocate Usman Riaz Gul, another member of Imran’s legal team, emphasized that the defendants couldn’t be properly indicted without complete witness statements and the case memo.
Furthermore, the lawyer disclosed that the PTI chairman’s request for a bicycle for exercise in Adiala Jail was granted upon the judge’s direction.
According to the FIR, the former premier and former foreign minister are accused of wrongful communication/use of official secret information and illegal retention of a cipher telegram. The investigation will also focus on the involvement of Imran’s aide Muhammad Azam Khan, former federal minister Asad Umar, and other associates.
The document stated that Imran and Qureshi, along with their associates, shared classified information from a secret document with the public, misrepresenting facts for personal gain. It alleged that a clandestine meeting at Banigala was held to manipulate the contents of the cipher message, endangering national security. Moreover, the accused deliberately withheld the cipher telegram, undermining the state’s security system and compromising Pakistan’s diplomatic communication.
