PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has filed a bail application in Islamabad High Court in connection with missing cipher case. The bail plea was submitted through Barrister Salman Safdar, in which the court was prayed to release the PTI chief on bail. It may be mentioned here that Official Secrets Act special court, which is hearing the cipher case, had already rejected Imran Khan’s bail request. Imran Khan presently is in Attock jail after the special court on Wednesday last had extended his judicial remand till September 26 in cipher case. The PTI chairman was sent to jail on August 5 following his conviction in the Toshakhana case, but the IHC had suspended his sentence. However, a special court had directed Attock jail authorities to keep him in “judicial lockup” in connection with the cipher case.

What is cipher case

The first information report (FIR) was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act. It was registered on the complaint of Home Secretary. 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 former premier and top diplomat endangered the state interests.

The report claimed that former prime minister asked Azam Khan – the then principal secretary – to “manipulate the contents of cipher”. “The former premier deliberately kept the copy of diplomatic cipher, which was sent to the PM office”, it added.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)