On Thursday, a special court granted bail to Asad Umar, a leader of thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in the cipher case.
This case revolves around the alleged misuse of diplomatic cipher content,which former Prime Minister Imran Khan presented as evidence of aconspiracy to overthrow his government. The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC)Judge Abul Hasnaat Muhammad Zulqarnain has been appointed as the judge ofthis special court, responsible for cases registered under the OfficialSecrets Act nationwide.
As part of the bail conditions, the judge approved Asad Umar’s release ona surety bond of Rs50,000. PTI’s legal affairs spokesperson, lawyer NaeemHaider Panjhutha, confirmed the grant of Umar’s bail, stating that theprosecutor found no need to detain him and lacked evidence against him. Theproceedings for Imran Khan’s case are ongoing. Asad Umar had been takeninto custody by the police on August 20 in connection with the cipher case.
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Similarly, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has also beendetained in the same case and is currently held at Adiala Jail. In anotherdevelopment, the special court rejected bail petitions for Imran Khan andShah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. On the previous day, the specialcourt had extended their judicial remand for 14 days in relation to thiscase. Imran Khan has been in custody since August 5 after his arrest in theToshakhana case and is presently incarcerated at Attock Jail.
