A special court on Friday adjourned the hearing of cipher case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi till October 31. Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the case in Adiala Jail under the Official Secrets Act 2023. The court adjourned the hearing due to the issuance of detailed verdict in cipher case bail pleas. On the other hand Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected the bail plea of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman in the cipher case. After rejecting the plea to stop the trial of the cipher case, the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq also rejected the bail plea of PTI Chief. The first information report (FIR) was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act.

It was registered on the complaint of the Home Secretary. Former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi were nominated in the report, while names of former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar were also mentioned. The FIR stated that the former prime minister and foreign minister distorted the facts of the diplomatic cipher. “A conspiracy was launched to misuse the contents of the cipher to fulfill nefarious purposes”, it added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)