A file photo of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s lawyer, while pointing out loopholes in a trial court’s verdict in the diplomatic cipher case, has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced in the case simply to appease a foreign power.

The Express Tribune on March 29 reported that it emerged during the hearing of appeals by the PTI leaders by a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 28.

Also read: Imran Khan | The cornered captain

The bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, resumed hearing the appeals of the PTI leaders against their conviction under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, for misusing a diplomatic cipher to the detriment of national interests.

Just two weeks before the ouster of the PTI government in April 2022 through a vote of no-confidence, Khan had brandished 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.

During the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case against Khan and Qureshi for misusing the cipher copy.

The ex-prime minister, along with Qureshi, was handed down a sentence of 10 years each in the cipher case in January for publishing contents of a secret cable sent by the country’s ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad.

On Thursday, when Justice Farooq asked Salman Safdar, the lawyer of 71-year-old Khan and 67-year-old Qureshi, about what the former premier had waved in a public rally in March 2022, the lawyer said it was the job of the prosecution—the FIA—to establish what was in Khan’s hand during that rally.

Continuing his arguments, Mr. Safdar said Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, had dispatched the cipher after a meeting with US diplomat Donald Lu. “In his testimony before the trial court, he did not disclose what prompted him to send the cipher telegram after that meeting. However, he clarified that he never mentioned any conspiracy in his message,” Mr. Safdar said.

When Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb asked Mr. Safdar if Mr. Majeed was one of the prosecution witnesses who were aware of the content of the cipher, the lawyer replied in the affirmative. He said Mr. Majeed had recommended in a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting to issue a strong demarche on Donald Lu’s statement, adding that the former PM had not violated his oath by revealing the threat issued by Mr. Lu.

Mr. Safdar said the trial court neither summoned the former US charge d’affaires, Angela Aggeler nor asked for the record of her WhatsApp conversations with another Pakistani official. “A former PM has been put behind bars on the instruction of former US charge d’affaires and Lu,” he said.

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb asked if a PM could be imprisoned, say just for laying stress on completing the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project. “At least you will need an FIR to do that,” he added. The court noted that Asad Majeed could be the prosecution’s star witness. However, he did not reveal anything to qualify to become such a witness. The court later adjourned till Tuesday, the report said.

Pakis­tan has dismissed the U.S. suggestion to probe discrepancies in the February 8 general elections, asserting that it will not succumb to external dictates.

Foreign Office spokes­person Mum­taz Zahra Baloch in her weekly press address on March 1 categorically said that “no country could give directions” to Pakistan, an independent and sovereign nation.

“We believe in our own sovereign right to make decisions about Pakistan’s internal affairs,” Dawn News quoted Ms. Bal­och as saying in reply to the comments made by her U.S. counterpart reg­arding allegations of misconduct in the controversy-marred general elections.

Earlier this week, U.S. State Department spoke­sperson Matt­hew Miller said any claims of interference or fraud “should be fully and transparently investigated per Pakis­tan’s laws and procedures”.

On another occasion, Mr. Miller said, “Concerning inv­estigations into reported irregularities, we want to see those investigations proceed … [and] wrapped up as soon as possible.” The comments were prompted by accusations, particularly by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed candidates, of tampering with and manipulation of election results.

The results were announced after an unprecedented delay by the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The ECP and the caretaker government have strongly refuted the accusations, urging political parties to pursue legal remedies for their complaints through courts and other appropriate channels.

Mr. Miller is not the only U.S. official to express concerns over the polls.

Citing “strong evidence” of election rigging in Pakistan, a group of influential lawmakers, including Muslim legislators, belonging to the ruling Democratic Party has urged U.S. President Joe Biden to withhold “recognition” of a new government in Islamabad until a transparent and credible investigation is conducted.

The February 8 general election, marred by allegations of widespread rigging, in Pakistan, resulted in a hung Parliament with independent candidates backed by the PTI party winning more than 90 seats at the 266-member National Assembly.

Ex-Premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged 75 seats and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) got 54 seats.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) won 17 seats.

In a joint letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers expressed concerns about “pre-and post-poll rigging in Pakistan’s recent parliamentary elections”, urging the U.S. Congress to “withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted”.

Islamabad is a long-standing ally of Washington and it is in the interest of the U.S. to ensure that democracy thrives in Pakistan and that election results reflect the interests of the Pakistani people, not the interests of the Pakistani elite and military, the letter sent on Wednesday said.

Since the election resulted in a hung Parliament, the PML-N and the PPP have struck a post-poll deal with four other parties to form a coalition government, which may effectively end Mr. Khan’s chances of returning to power.

A party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form the government.

PTI has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the “mandate thieves” will result in the worst political instability.

“Given the strong evidence of pre- and post-poll rigging, we urge you to wait until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation has been conducted before recognising a new Pakistani government. Without taking this necessary step, you risk enabling anti-democratic behaviour by Pakistani authorities and could undermine the democratic will of the Pakistani people,” the U.S. lawmakers said.

The letter urged Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity and tasked State Department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release.

It urged the Biden administration to “make clear” to Pakistani authorities that U.S. law provides for accountability for acts that violate human rights, undermine democracy, or further corruption, “including the potential for military and other cooperation to be halted”.

Around 35 Congress members, led by Democratic Party’s Gregorio Casar, have written a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging not to acknowledge the new government in Islamabad until the cash-strapped country formally investigated the rigging allegations.

In response to a question about the letter, Ms. Baloch said, “This is a communication between public officials in the U.S. and is not addressed to the government of Pakistan. We therefore have no comments to offer on such letters.” Ms. Baloch said Pakistan is a “dynamic democracy” and possesses the necessary domestic frameworks to address issues related to elections or democratic processes.

The spokesperson also refrained from commenting on PTI founder Imran Khan’s letter to the International Monetary Fund which linked any future financial support with the election audit.

“As you know the [interim] Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has made a statement on this matter. The Ministry of Finance takes the lead on IMF-related issues, so they will be in a better position to comment on this subject,” she said.

Islamabad:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that the 241-million South Asian nation will hold elections in the last week of January, 2024, a statement said, instead of in November this year.

The elections had been due to be held in November, but were delayed by a couple of weeks due to fresh marking of constituencies, according to a new census.

A final list of the new constituencies will be ready and published by Nov. 30, the ECP said, and the nation will vote late in January after a 54-day process that includes filing nomination papers, appeals and campaigning.

The elections are due after the outgoing parliament completed a five-year term in August. A caretaker government has been installed to supervise the election.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)