The Special Court has started hearing the cipher case registered under the Official Secrets Act against former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC). Special Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain is conducting the trial proceedings. At the outset of the hearing, the jail authorities presented a letter of Adiala Jail Superintendent Police to the court informing it that the jail authorities could not present PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the court. The PTI chairman’s lawyer Salman Safdar and FIA Prosecutor Shah Khawar and Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi appeared in the court.

Lawyer Salman Safdar said that he is expecting that the PTI chairman would be brought before the court, but he has not been produced yet. The SP’s letter said that according to the report of the sensitive agencies and Islamabad police, there are life threats to the PTI chairman. Lawyer Salman Safdar contended that the agencies’ report mentioned threats to Imran Khan, but not to Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Shah Mehmood was not presented in the court either, he added. The lawyer said if there are security threats, the hearing should be adjourned for an indefinite period of time. He rued that the case did not proceed in the jail, nor did the authorities want it to be proceeded here. The court should grant bail to Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood in the case, the lawyer pleaded.

He said that he appeared in 50 to 60 cases along with Imran Khan in the courts. What terror incident has happened now that Imran could not be produced in the court, the lawyer said adding that the superintendent of Adiala Jail has violated the order of the Islamabad High Court. During the previous hearing, Special Court Judge Zulqarnain issued directives that PTI Chairman Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi be presented at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) in Islamabad on November 28.

The former premier and his aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the case on October 23. Both have pleaded not guilty. Their trial was being held in Adiala Jail by the special court and four witnesses had already recorded their statements. But the PTI chairman challenged the jail trial in the Islamabad High Court which in its judgement on Nov 21 termed the government’s notification for jail trial “erroneous” and scrapped the entire proceedings.

While declaring the proceedings void, the IHC had said notifications issued for conducting the trial in jail were against the law and spoiled the proceedings, including Imran and Qureshi’s indictment and the testimonies of four witnesses. As a result of the judgement, the Special Court would now start a fresh trial while the prosecution would have to file a fresh application to conduct the trial in jail. It must be noted that on August 29, the IHC had suspended the PTI chief’s sentence in the Toshakhana case, but a special court established under the Official Secrets Act had directed jail authorities to keep Imran in “judicial lockup” in the cipher case. A notification issued by the law ministry the same day had stated that the Law and Justice Division had “no objection” to Imran’s trial in the cipher case being held at Attock jail. In September, Imran was shifted to Adiala jail.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)