A special court has extended the judicial remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and party Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case until September 26.
Imran Khan has been in jail since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5, where he was found guilty of failing to properly declare gifts received during his time in office.
Although the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned a lower court’s decision to sentence him to three years in prison with a fine of Rs100,000 which would have prevented him from contesting upcoming elections, Khan remains incarcerated due to his arrest in the cipher case.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested the former prime minister and the former foreign minister last month, booking them under the Official Secrets Act.
During the recent hearing, Judge Zulqarnain directed the FIA to submit a challan on September 26 in the cipher case.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi was taken into custody on August 19 in the same case, while Imran Khan was arrested in the cipher case while serving his sentence in Attock jail.
The FIR registered against the PTI leaders stated that they were involved in “communications of information contained in the secret classified document (Cipher Telegram received from Parep. Washington dated 7th March, 2022 to Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to the unauthorized person (i.e., the public at large) by twisting the facts to achieve their ulterior motives and personal gains in a manner prejudicial to the interests of state security.”
The Law Ministry established the special court under the Official Secrets Act to conduct the hearing on the cipher case, with Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Zulqarnain being given an additional charge to hear the matter.
Outside the court, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, speaking to the media, emphasized that his party had never betrayed the country and never would. He expressed confidence that he had never betrayed his country and, if proven otherwise, he should be held accountable. Qureshi also defended institutions during his time as foreign minister.
Regarding the leadership of PTI, Qureshi stated that there is no ambiguity about it, and Imran Khan remains irreplaceable as the party chairman.
