An unpleasant situation developed during the hearing of the US cipher case at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Monday when former prime minister and PTI ex-chairman Imran Khan and PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi lost their temper and started shouting, forcing the judge to take a breather. The atmosphere in the Official Secrets Act court was vitiated during the cross-examination of Azam Khan, former secretary to prime minister. As the presiding judge lost control of the situation, he opted for a short break in the proceedings. On Saturday too, both Imran and Qureshi flared up after they learnt that their lawyers had been replaced by state counsels. During the last hearing, Special Court judge Abual Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain had decided to appoint state counsel for representing the two accused, as the defence lawyers again failed to appear before the court. The move triggered chaos in the court as both the accused reacted angrily, forcing the special court judge to issue warning to them.

It was Qureshi who first snatched the case file from the state defence counsel and threw it on the wall while also resorting to shouting. Similarly, Imran Khan used objectionable language against the judge during the hearing held at the Adiala jail. According to the court decision, Malik Abdul Rehman and Hazrat Younus would represent Imran Khan and Qureshi respectively as the state defence counsels and cross-examine the prosecution witnesses. Earlier on Friday, Raja Rizwan Abbasi – the FIA prosecutor – had requested the special court established under the Official Secrets Act to withdraw the defence counsel’s right of cross-examination, saying the defence was applying delaying tactics to prolong the trial. He said one of the witnesses had come from the UAE to attend the court proceedings, but the defence counsel did not bother to come to the court.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)