Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi indicted again in cipher case
RAWALPINDI, Dec 13 (SABAH): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and the party’s Vice Chairman Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Wednesday were indicted in the cipher case again.
The two leaders were indicted by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023. Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain issued the verdict that framed charges against the PTI leaders.
Both politicians have pleaded not guilty to their involvement in the offence related to the alleged misuse of diplomatic cable for political purposes.
This was the second time that the PTI leaders were indicted.
During the hearing of the case, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Special Prosecutors Shah Khawar Advocate and Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi appeared in the court, while Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were represented by lawyers Usman Gul and Barrister Taimur Malik, respectively.
Following Imran Khan and Qureshi’s indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case on the charges of leaking state secrets on October 23 will begin in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
The case’s hearing was also held on Tuesday during which the family members of the PTI leaders were also present. A few reporters were also allowed inside the courtroom to witness the proceedings.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the PTI lawyers submitted six separate petitions in the court pertaining to incomplete documents in the case challan, media access and jail trial notification.
Meanwhile, Khan’s lawyer Barrister Salman Safdar argued that the proceedings were being conducted in a “hasty manner”, adding that the PTI had challenged two verdicts issued under the Official Secrets Act in the IHC.
However, the FIA prosecutor highlighted that the high court had not stopped the special court from conducting the proceedings. He also urged the court to complete the indictment process.
Judge Zulqarnain said he would take all the decisions on the basis of merit, adding that he was hearing the case impartially.
Last month, after Khan and Qureshi challenged their indictment in the case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared their jail trial “null and void” while allowing their intra-court appeals in the case.
However, the federal cabinet yet again approved the summary of holding the jail trial of both politicians following which the trail continued, leading to the indictment of both Khan and Qureshi today.
The FIA, in its challan, stated that the former prime minister and the vice-chairman were found guilty in the matter and requested the court to conduct their trial and sentence them in the case.
Khan’s former principal secretary Mohammad Azam Khan was also named as a “strong witness” in the case.
The FIA also attached Azam’s statements, recorded under Sections 161 and 164, along with the challan, said the sources, adding that the PTI chief kept the cipher to himself and misused the state secret.
The sources also said that Khan had a copy of the cipher but he did not return it.
Moreover, the FIA also attached the transcript of Khan and Qureshi’s speech on March 27 — the day when the former premier brandished a letter claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation, that wanted his government to be removed from power.
The agency also submitted a list of 28 witnesses to the court with the challan after recording their statements under Section 161.
Sources further revealed that the names of former foreign secretaries Asad Majeed, Sohail Mehmood and the then additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi have also been added to the list of witnesses.