A special court established under the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday handed both former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi 10 years in jail in the cipher case. The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet alleges was never returned by Imran. The PTI has long held that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister. The short verbal verdict was announced soon after recording the statements of the two accused under Section 342 during the hearing on Tuesday), as the court held a swift hearing of the matter despite the delaying tactics used by the defence. Earlier, questionnaires were prepared to record their statements as the court resumed the hearing of the cipher case. On the other hand, the PTI had moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday morning to challenge the appointment of state defence counsel for the two accused in the cipher case, requesting it to declare the special court’s Jan 26 orders. Earlier on Monday, a lengthy hearing of the cipher case was held by the special court in Adiala jail during which cross-examination of 11 witnesses was completed.

Also on Monday, a lengthy hearing of the cipher case was held by the special court established under the Official Secrets Act in Adiala jail during which cross-examination of 11 witnesses was completed. During the hearing conducted by Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, the special court judge, a total of 25 witnesses were presented before the court. The prominent names among those cross-examined by the two sets of lawyers include former foreign secretary Sohail Mehmood, former principal secretary to the PM Azam Khan, former Interior Secretary Yusuf Naseem Khokhar, interior secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani and former ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed. Earlier in the day, the cipher case proceedings were again disrupted as the two accused got angry and started shouting. As the situation worsened, the special court judge opted for a temporary break after which the hearing started again. Qureshi objected to the state-appointed defence counsel during cross-examination, expressing difficulty attending court in the current situation. PTI lawyer Salman Safdar noted that the Islamabad High Court had deemed the trial invalid, yet the case persisted in this court for the third time.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)