Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Khan had brandished the cipher paper just two weeks before the ouster of the PTI government in April 2022 through a vote of no-confidence. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a fresh twist in the cipher case, the Islamabad High Court has observed that the Federal Investigation Age­ncy has nothing to prove that jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan retained the confidential diplomatic cable and it went missing from his possession.

An Islamabad High Court (IHC) Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurang­zeb, who on Tuesday resumed hearing appeals filed by 71-year-old Mr. Khan and his then Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi against their conviction in the cipher case, questioned whether on not there was any record available with the prosecuting agency to prove that the jailed former premier retained the cipher.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Mr. Khan was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment along with Mr. Qureshi in the cipher case in which the former Premier showed a piece of paper — allegedly a copy of a diplomatic cipher — at a public rally in Islamabad, claiming it as proof of a conspiracy against his government by a foreign power, referring to U.S. diplomat Donald Lu, who has been at the centre of the cipher controversy.

Mr. Khan had brandished the cipher paper just two weeks before the ouster of the PTI government in April 2022 through a vote of no-confidence.

Earlier, a Foreign Ministry report submitted by defence counsel Barrister Salman Safdar to the IHC containing details of the cipher’s distribution suggested that almost every recipient of the cipher, inc­l­u­ding the former army chief and the chief justice, returned the confidential document after a case was registered against Mr. Khan, Dawn News reported.

While special prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah explained the cipher movement from the Foreign Ministry to the PM Office, Justice Farooq asked: “Is there any record of the cipher’s movement that it was handed over to the prime minister by the principal secretary?”

Mr. Shah replied that Azam Khan, the then-principal secretary, testified before the court that the cipher was handed over to the PTI founder and was never returned.

“We believe it’s hearsay,” remarked the chief justice, adding that there was a possibility that Mr. Khan had asked the secretary to return the cipher.

Mr. Shah, however, said the court had ample reason to believe that the ex-PM received and perused the cipher based on which he made public speeches and even sent a demarche to the U.S.

“But how do we know it was not returned?” the chief justice questioned.

Mr. Shah replied that witnesses in the case had stated on oath that Mr. Khan never returned the confidential document.

He said that during a public speech and an interview with a private television channel, Mr. Khan admitted that the cipher was in his possession.

Justice Aurangzeb remarked that politicians make such statements to pander to the crowd.

He asked the state’s counsel to apprise the court of what happened with the First Information Report registered over Azam Khan’s alleged abduction and directed the cou­nsel to submit a challan or disch­arge report in the FIR by May 2.

Meanwhile, Khawar Farid Man­eka, the former spouse of Bushra Bibi, sought the transfer of the ap­­p­eal against the conviction of Mr. Khan and his now wife in the Iddat case.

Mr. Maneka requested sessions judge Shahrukh Arjumand to rec­use himself from hearing the ap­­p­eal for being biased, accusing the judge of being sympathetic to the PTI party.

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country.

Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted him along with his close ally ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the case.

Mr. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with the pleas for bail in the case as well as against the FIR which was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in August.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq after the conclusion of the hearing had reserved judgment on October 16 which he announced on Friday.

The case is about a document sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington in March 2022 that Mr. Khan tried to use for political purposes by saying that it was proof of a foreign conspiracy to orchestrate his ouster from power in April last year.

Mr. Khan, who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022, is accused of “misuse the contents of the cipher” to build a narrative that his government was ousted due to a foreign conspiracy hatched by the U.S., a charge denied by Washington.

Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30 presented the charge sheet against Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi who signed its copies.

On October 26, the Islamabad High Court rejected Mr. Khan’s petition challenging his indictment in the case.

The court was earlier set to indict Mr. Khan on October 17, but it delayed it after Mr. Khan’s lawyers objected that he was not provided with the copies of the chargesheet.

The cipher reportedly went missing from Mr. Khan’s possession. Mr. Khan had repeatedly said before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year that the cipher pointed to a conspiracy to remove him from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mr. Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term.

Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case and remained in the Attock jail on judicial remand. He was later shifted to Adiala jail.

More than 150 cases have been registered against Mr. Khan since his ouster from power in April last year.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted that former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.

Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also indicted along with Khan.

Mr. Khan had used that document to build a narrative that his government was ousted as a result of a foreign conspiracy. The hearing of the case was held at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi by special court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain. Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the indictment, the court adjourned the hearing till October 27 when it will start the formal trial.

Earlier after hearing the case last week, the court had adjourned the hearing till October 23 with the remarks that Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi would be indicted on that day.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 30 presented the charge sheet against Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi who signed its copies.

The court was earlier set to indict Mr. Khan on October 17 but it delayed it after Mr. Khan’s lawyers objected that he was not provided with the copies of charge sheet.

The cipher case concerns a diplomatic cable, which reportedly went missing from Mr. Khan’s possession. Imran Khan had repeatedly said before and after the no-confidence motion against him last year that the cipher pointed to a conspiracy to remove him from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mr. Khan has been in jail due to cipher case since the Islamabad High Court on August 29 granted him bail in the Toshakhana case in which he was arrested on August 5 from Lahore.

More than 150 cases have been registered against Imran Khan since ouster from power in April last year.

Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A special court in Pakistan, on October 17, adjourned till October 23 the indictment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country.

The case pertains to a secret diplomatic document that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan used to criticise his opponents for allegedly orchestrating his ouster from power in April last year.

The document reportedly went missing from his possession. Imran Khan’s party alleges that the document contained a threat from the U.S. to oust Mr. Khan from office.

The special court set up by the government held the in-camera hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after the Islamabad High Court on October 16 rejected a plea by Mr. Khan against holding his trial in jail.

Judge Abual Hasanat Zulqernain adjourned hearing till October 23 with the remarks that Mr. Khan and former Foreign Minister Qureshi would be indicted on that day.

Barrister Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousuf Chaudhry were present as 71-year-old Khan’s counsels, the Dawn newspaper reported. “Mr. Qureshi’s wife and daughter also reached the court. However, it was not confirmed whether they were allowed to attend the hearing,” it said.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) special prosecutor Shah Khawar, Mr. Khan, Mr. Qureshi and their legal teams were all present during the hearing. Mr. Khawar told journalists that the indictment proceedings will take place next Monday (October 23), Geo News reported.

“On October 23, the charges will be framed and the indictment will be filed. After the indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case will begin,” he said. As per the court’s orders of October 9, both PTI leaders were expected to be indicted in the case on Tuesday.

However, the indictment could not take place on Tuesday with the court only distributing the copies of the challan (charge sheet) among the suspects. Speaking to the media after the hearing, lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat said that Mr. Khan and Mr. Qureshi will now be indicted during the next hearing.

Imran Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. He was incarcerated on August 5 this year, after an Islamabad court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case. The PTI chief was lodged in the Attock District Jail to serve his prison term.

Later, his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court, but then he was arrested in the cipher case.