10 witnesses produced against Imran, Qureshi in cipher case

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court on Monday adjourned the hearing in the cipher case against former premier Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi till November 7, without recording statements of witnesses.

Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the case in Adiala Jail under the Official Secrets Act 2023.

The witnesses were present in court to testify against Pakistan Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Judge Abul Hasnat inquired from the FIA prosecutor regarding the sequence for recording witness statements. The FIA presented 10 government witnesses, including Imran Sajjad, Aqeel Haider, Shamoon Qaiser, M Afzal, Nader Khan, Iqra Ashraf, Farrukh Abbas, Haseeb bin Aziz, IO Shabbir, and Khushnood.

Their attendance was noted, following which, the court decided to adjourn the hearing and summoned the witnesses in the next hearing.

Last week, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected PTI chairman’s petitions seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case and the dismissal of its first information report (FIR).

The court observed that prime facie, Section 5(1)(a) (wrongful communication, etc of information) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was applicable against the PTI chairman and he was not exempted from the process as the former premier.

It also ruled that the PTI chief, in his capacity as the prime minister, was also not authorised to declassify the diplomatic cipher.

The court noted that according to the prosecution, the cipher was in the possession of the PTI chairman. It added that there was no doubt that there was all the documentary evidence against Imran and bail could not be granted to someone facing “serious charges”.

On Sept 30 this year, the FIA submitted its charge sheet to a special court formed under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

It claimed in the charge sheet that Imran had violated the Official Secrets Act by unlawfully keeping a diplomatic cipher in his possession. The agency also accused PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi of facilitating Imran while also mentioning his March 27, 2022 speech at a public rally in Islamabad.

Imran had taken out a piece of paper allegedly the diplomatic cipher from his pocket and displayed it at that rally, claiming that it was evidence of an “international conspiracy” to topple his government.