In Islamabad, the Official Secrets Act court has issued notices for October4 to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Imran Khan and Shah MahmoodQureshi in the cypher case. The court proceedings began officially withJudge Abul Hasnaat Zulqarnain presiding, following the submission of theFederal Investigation Agency’s challan, which named the two PTI leaders asaccused individuals.
Last week, the FIA alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan hadviolated the Official Secrets Act, 1923, by possessing a diplomatic cypherunlawfully, thereby warranting legal repercussions. In their charge-sheetsubmitted to a special court, the agency also accused Qureshi of aidingImran and mentioned his speech at a public rally in Islamabad on March 27,2022.
The FIA declared both Imran and Qureshi guilty of breaching the OfficialSecrets Act and requested the special court judge to conduct a trial andimpose penalties on these prominent PTI leaders.
On March 27, 2022, just before facing a vote of no-confidence leading tohis removal, former Prime Minister Imran displayed a piece of paper,allegedly a diplomatic cypher, at a public rally, claiming it as evidenceof an “international conspiracy” against his government.
The ‘cypher-gate’ investigation began on July 19, 2023, after thePML-N-led coalition government initiated an official inquiry into thealleged misuse of a classified document by the former PM and hisassociates, violating the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Qureshi, who had served as the country’s foreign minister during the PTI’srule, was arrested on August 19, while Imran was arrested on August 29.Notably, the FIA did not include PTI former secretary general Asad Umaramong the accused.
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However, Imran’s former principal secretary, Azam Khan, has been named as awitness in the case, and his testimony under Sections 161 and 164 of theCode of Criminal Procedure is attached to the charge-sheet. Thecharge-sheet also includes transcripts of the speeches delivered by Imranand Qureshi at the March 27, 2022 rally.
The FIA has submitted a list of 28 witnesses to the court, with statementsfrom 27 of them attached to the challan. These witnesses include formerforeign secretaries Asad Majeed and Sohail Mehmood, as well as AdditionalForeign Secretary Faisal Niaz Timrizi. Copies of the charge-sheet areexpected to be provided to Imran and Qureshi at the next court hearing,after which the court will proceed with the indictment.
In response to the charge-sheet, the PTI spokesperson categoricallyrejected the charges presented by the FIA, characterizing the submittedchallan as “devoid of substance.” The spokesperson criticized theallegations against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah MahmoodQureshi, asserting that they were “as baseless as the alleged cypher caseitself.”
