ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday rejected pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first information report (FIR) in the cipher case.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the court order, which was reserved on October 16 after arguments were completed from both sides.
The IHC also rejected Imran Khan’s pleas to stop trial in the matter.
The written verdict issued by the court on Friday declared both petitions of Imran Khan as “without merit” and, therefore, “accordingly dismissed”.
“It is clarified that any observations, made hereinabove, are tentative in nature and shall not prejudice learned trial court during the trial,” the judgement emphasised.
About the plea seeking dismissal of the case, the court order said the petitioner had the “efficacious and alternate remedy by way of moving an appropriate application” under Section 249-A (power of magistrate to acquit accused at any stage) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
“Moreover, the petitioner is co-accused in the case and even if the arguments advanced for quashment of FIR on his behalf are accepted, FIR cannot be quashed in as much as there are other co-accused and there cannot be a partial quashing of FIR,” the verdict said referring to the fact that the FIR had named multiple people.
Citing a Supreme Court verdict, the IHC said it showed that “contents of cipher were such that they only called for demarche and not any further strict action, as there was no conspiracy of any kind”.
Addressing the arguments made in the pleas, the judgment said Imran, “when addressed the public gathering, was not doing so pursuant to the performance of his duties as prime minister, rather it was a political engagement”.
Noting that the punishment for the offence committed under section 5(1)(a) (wrongful communication, etc., of information) of the Official Secrets Act was “death or imprisonment up to fourteen years”, the IHC said it attracted the prohibitory clause of Section 497 (when bail may be taken in ease of non-boilable offence) of the CrPC and “there does not exist any ground for further inquiry”.
The IHC order said, “The case law cited by the petitioner for grant of bail in the facts and circumstances is not relevant in as much as undoubtedly the evidence is all documentary but according to the prosecution, the copy of cipher is still in custody of the petitioner and […] where allegations are serious and prima facie link the accused with the commission of the offence, bail is to be denied in case of Official Secrets Act, 1923.”
According to the charge sheet, the PTI chief, while holding the office of the prime minister, used the cipher in a “prohibited place (jalsa)” and “wilfully communicated” the secret information to unauthorised persons, which was against the “interest of the State of Pakistan”.
“The cipher was entrusted to you in confidence by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [but] you used the document while keeping it in your possession for the benefit of your personal political designs and compromised the cipher and the security system of Pakistan,” it read.
The charge sheet had said that Qureshi “aided and abetted” Imran and therefore was liable for the act in the same manner. During the last hearing, Khan’s counsel, Sardar Latif Khosa, had contended that an FIR could not be registered against his client since the federal cabinet of the former prime minister declassified the cipher.
He stated that the ex-premier enjoyed immunity as provided in Article 248 of the Constitution that protects the president, governor, prime minister, federal minister, minister of state, chief minister and provincial minister for their “act done or purported to be done”.
Khan had challenged the registration of the FIR and sought bail in the case filed against him and the party’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi for misusing the secret document for their political gains.
During the hearing, another counsel for the PTI chairman, Barrister Salman Safdar, argued that Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act was not applicable in the cipher case.
He said that the section could be invoked for sharing sensitive information with foreigners, and this “main ingredient is missing” in the FIR against the PTI chief.
A special court, formed under the Official Secrets Act, had indicted PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier. They are currently incarcerated at the Adiala jail.
Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain heard the cipher case against Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, but statements of witnesses could not be recorded on Friday. The witnesses would record their statements in the case on Oct 31, 2023.
The Judge presided over hearings in Adiala Jail where the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was supposed to bring five witnesses.
However, the statements could not be recorded after PTI’s lawyers told the court that the matter of Imran Khan’s bail was still being heard in the IHC. The FIA had submitted the names of 28 witnesses in their challan and had attached 161 statements from 27 of those.
Separately, PTI Chairman Imran Khan feared another attempt on his life in jail. “After making two public attempts to take my life, they would try to make another attempt in jail possibly through slow poisoning, since I would not agree to leave the country,” he said in a message, sent to the nation through his family members, as per the party’s Central Media Department.
At the same time, PTI chairman also said that he could be kept confined in jail till elections are held or even after that as well. He claimed and urged people to remember that all cases against him were completely bogus and politically motivated, concocted only to keep him in jail for certain till after the elections or maybe much longer beyond elections.
However, he made it clear that the growing political awareness and increasing resistance against closed-room conspiracies in his nation scares them.
He urged the nation that their struggle was entering its decisive phase; hence they would have to fight for their own rights and their country’s freedom come what may.
“At the moment, I am physically fit. I would know if my body is experiencing change from weakness. But they have already made two public attempts to take my life. Since I will not agree to leave my country, there is, of course, a danger they will try to make another attempt on my life while I am in jail. Such an attempt could also be through slow poisoning,” he feared.
About the current situation, PTI Chairman said, “In the last few days, we have witnessed a total mockery of the law. All that is happening today is not just an execution of a London “plan” but London “Agreement” that was signed between a cowardly fugitive and corrupt criminal and his facilitators”.
He contended that the only way a convicted criminal could be allowed to return to politics with a clean chit was by destroying the state institutions, and hence, “what we are witnessing is a complete collapse of our justice system”.
“Our struggle is entering its decisive phase. You will have to fight for your own rights and your country’s freedom,” he vowed.
About the elections, Imran said he had directed his lawyers and party office bearers to hold conventions all over the country and also commence the campaign for whenever elections are held.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan claimed on Friday that the PTI chairman would not be allowed to come out of jail during elections under an agreement signed in London. “The part of the agreement is to not allow the PTI chief to come out of jail in the elections,” she said.
Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aleema said that they were told by Imran Khan on October 24 that there was no London plan, but an agreement was reached in London. “Now whatever is happening in the country is happening according to that agreement,” Aleema added.
She vowed that she would continue to stand by her brother. She regretted: “There is not a single court in the country to provide justice to the PTI chief. The PTI chief is the leader of his own party despite being in jail.”