A special court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of cipher case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi till November 7. Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the case in Adiala Jail under the Official Secrets Act 2023. During the hearing, the FIA team produced five witnesses to record their statements. The witnesses have been identified as Nadir Khan, Imran Sajid, Muhammad Nauman Shamoon Qaiser and Farrukh Abbas.

The special court adjourned the hearing as it failed to record the complete statements of witnesses in the cipher case. A total of 28 witnesses had been identified by the FIA in the case who will all appear in turn to record their statements. Islamabad High Court (IHC) last Friday rejected the bail plea of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman in the cipher case. 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. It further stated that the former premier and top diplomat endangered the state interests.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)