A special court on Friday rejected the bail petition of Pakistan Tehreek- e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in cypher case. The decision was announced by Official Secrets Act court judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain following the reserved verdict. The court’s decision to dismiss Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s bail plea was primarily attributed to his absence during the proceedings. Furthermore, the court also dismissed both petitions submitted by the PTI stalwart’s lawyer Ali Bukhari. Bukhari had filed applications on behalf of Qureshi seeking exemption from attending court proceedings and requesting the summoning of Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the case.

The arrest On August 19, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Mr Qureshi from his residence in Islamabad on Saturday and booked him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, in a case pertaining to a diplomatic cypher. According to the FIR, the case was registered against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Qureshi on August 15 over the alleged misplacement of a diplomatic cable from the US under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 read with Section 34 of the PPC.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)