Bad news for Imran Khan, request to stop cipher case trial rejected

The Islamabad High Court has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s plea to indict and stay the trial in the cipher case. The Islamabad High Court disposed of the petition by directing PTTI Chairman to be given the right to a transparent trial.

Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Aamir Farooq heard the petition of Chairman PTI against the indictment proceedings and to stay the trial in the cipher case where Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar appeared and the court accepted the petition of Chairman PTI. The objections were removed.

The court reserved its verdict after hearing the arguments of the PTI chairman’s counsel, which was later delivered and rejected the PTI chairman’s plea to stay the trial.

The Islamabad High Court disposed of the petition by directing PTTI Chairman to be given the right to a transparent trial.

Chairman PTI’s lawyer Salman Safdar took the stand that it took me 10 days to give arguments on the bail application, on which Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Amir Farooq remarked that I also took 10 days for the same reason. I told you that this kind of case has come up for the first time.

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court said that both sides had given good arguments, so I am also taking time in the decision.

Advocate Salman Safdar argued that my client was charged only 6 days after the copies of the challan were distributed.

He took the position that the cipher is neither a challan nor a part of the case file, the whole case revolves around the cipher but it is not a part of it, on the other hand, tomorrow they want to record the statements of three witnesses.

Salman Safdar told the court that we request that relief be given.

Chairman PTI’s counsel took the stand that three things were ignored, secret arrest, secret remand, charge framed on the sixth day.

The Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court reserved the decision on the petition of Chairman PTI after the arguments of the counsel were completed and later rejected the petition and directed that the petitioner be given the right to a transparent trial.

It should be noted that a special court established under the Official Secrets Act 1923 had indicted former Prime Minister and Chairman PTI Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case on October 23.

Under the Official Secrets Act, Special Court Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the cipher case against Chairman PTI and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Adiala Jail.

During the hearing, the former prime minister and the former foreign minister were charged with the crime, while both accused denied the crime.

The court formally started the trial and summoned the witnesses on October 27.

Chairman PTI, through his lawyer Salman Safdar, challenged the decision of the special court on October 25 in the Islamabad High Court, requesting that the indictment be declared illegal.

It was said in the petition that the High Court has the power to inspect any case by calling for the records of the Special Court or the trial court.

The petition stated that the petitioner is concerned about the procedure of trial and indictment under the Official Secrets Act.

In the petition filed against the indictment in the cipher case in the Islamabad High Court, Imran Khan had said that the petitioner is the head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the country’s largest party, against whom treason, treason, provocative speeches, terrorism were committed. About 40 cases are recorded including

It was further stated in the petition that after the failure in the above fake cases, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) failed to arrest Imran Khan also in the banned party funding and then resorted to the cipher case.

The court was told that in view of the ongoing political vendetta, a fake and fabricated case was registered by the FIA ​​against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Azam Khan.

The PTI chairman had taken the stand that the petitioners in the Toshahkhana reference are already lodged in Adiala Jail and lawyers and family members are not being allowed to meet them citing ‘security concerns’.

He had said that the illegal tactics show that the Official Secrets Act case is being conducted behind closed doors away from public awareness.

The petition further stated that the judge hearing the case was in sheer haste, compromising on fair trial and procedure and despite filing of applications based on serious objections, the accused was charged.

Chairman PTI had said that the special court framed the charge sheet under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, which is a clear violation of the law.

The petition said that Imran Khan’s ‘secret arrest’ and ‘secret remand’ and hasty charge-sheeting clearly reflected a wrong approach.

In the petition filed in the Islamabad High Court, it was held that the judge had committed a huge illegality by indicting Chairman PTI in the absence of substantial documentary evidence.

It may be recalled that the Federal Investigation Agency submitted a challan to the court on September 30 in which Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were allegedly charged under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act for divulging the secret text of the cipher and losing the cipher. I was declared the main accused.

FIA cited 27 witnesses in the challan, main witness Azam Khan has already testified before FIA ​​against Imran Khan.

In his statement, Azam Khan reportedly said that Imran Khan used the secret document to divert public attention from the no-confidence motion he was facing as prime minister at the time.

Cipher case

The cipher case is related to a diplomatic document that allegedly disappeared from Imran Khan’s possession, in which the former prime minister and PTI vice-chairman are in jail on judicial remand.

PTI alleges that in this cipher, Imran Khan was threatened by the US to remove him from power.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi was named in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the FIA ​​and booked under Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code along with Sections 5 (Misuse of Information) and 9 of the Official Secrets Act. went

In the FIR, on 7 March 2022, the then Foreign Secretary received a diplomatic cipher from Washington, on 5 October 2022, a case was registered in the FIA’s counter-terrorism department against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi. And Asad Umar and his aides were named on charges of endangering national security and seeking personal gain by distorting the information contained in the cipher.

The case said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and their aides were involved in providing classified information to unauthorized persons.

Cipher was quoted as saying that ‘they held a secret meeting on March 28, 2022 at Bani Gala (Imran Khan’s residence) to hatch a conspiracy by misusing the details of the cipher to achieve their nefarious purpose’.

It was said in the case that ‘accused Imran Khan with wrong intention directed his then principal secretary Muhammad Azam Khan to prepare minutes in this secret meeting by changing the text of the cipher for his personal interest at the cost of national security. ‘.

The FIR alleged that the copy of the cipher sent to the Prime Minister’s Office was deliberately kept by then Prime Minister Imran Khan with ulterior motives and never returned to the Ministry of External Affairs.

It was further informed that ‘the said cipher (classified secret document) is still illegally in the possession of Imran Khan, the entire cipher security system of the state and overseas Pakistanis by the unauthorized acquisition and misuse of the cipher telegram by the nominated person. The mission’s secret messaging system has been compromised’.

The FIR stated that the actions of the accused directly or indirectly benefited external powers and caused damage to the state of Pakistan.

The case filed in the FIA ​​further stated that “the competent authority has approved the registration of the case, therefore, the FIA ​​Anti-Terrorism Wing at the Islamabad Police Station under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act of the Pakistan Penal Code.” A case under Section 34 has been filed against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for misusing official secret information and maliciously acquiring cipher telegram (official secret document) and Azam Khan as Principal Secretary. The role of former federal minister Asad Umar and other involved assistants will be determined during the investigation.