Special court allows in-camera trial of Imran, Qureshi in cipher case

RAWALPINDI: A special court established under the Official Secrets Act 2023 on Thursday accepted the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) petition seeking an in-camera hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.

Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain delivered the reserved verdict in the case. The court said that the family members would be given access to the courtroom during the hearing.

The FIA filed a petition under Section 14(a) seeking an in-camera hearing of Khan and Qureshi. The development comes after the former prime minister and PTI's vice-chairman were indicted by the special court for the second time yesterday.

Both politicians were indicted in the case on October 23 and pleaded not guilty to their involvement in the offence related to the alleged misuse of diplomatic cable for political purposes.

Following Khan and Qureshi’s indictment, the regular trial of the cipher case on the charges of leaking state secrets was being held in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Last month, both leaders challenged their indictment in the case, and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared their jail trial “null and void” while allowing their intra-court appeals in the case.

However, the federal cabinet yet again approved the summary of holding the jail trial of both politicians following which the trial continued, leading to the indictment of both Khan and Qureshi on Wednesday.

Speaking to media persons outside the jail, FIA's Special Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi said that the witnesses in the case will be produced before the court.

He further said that the FIA has filed a petition seeking an in-camera hearing of the case under section 14 of the Secrets Act.

Abbasi said that the process of the indictment was completed yesterday, adding that the accused doesn't need to sign on the charge sheet.

Khan’s family to approach international courts

Speaking with journalists outside the Adiala jail, the PTI founder’s sister Aleema Khan said her family were being told to take this case to international courts.

Khan told the media that her family would go to the international courts and do everything possible while adhering to the law. “PTI founder will be saved from being hanged.”

The PTI founder’s sister also said a case will also be filed against former United States Ambassador Donald Lu, as he was involved in the ouster of an elected government along with General Bajwa and Hussain Haqqani.

“Salman, Qasim and family to file a case in the UK,” she added, sharing that Khan’s family in Britain would file a case there as he, too, has agreed to it.

The family, she said, will continue to pursue the case in Pakistan too.

She likened her brother’s case to that of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, sharing how everyone was sure about his hanging.

“The founder of PTI is also being taken on the path of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and how fast his case is being proceeded,” she said.

Today's hearing

During the hearing, Imran’s sisters and wife Bushra Bibi were also present in the courtroom.

Qureshi's counsel Ali Bukhari said that they had challenged the notification of the jail trial in the high court after which the notification was nullified and an open trial was ordered.

"We got to know about the indictment through media," he said.

"Where were you during the hearing? The charges were framed in front of everyone," asked Judge Zulqarnain.

The court then reserved its verdict on the FIA’s plea seeking in-camera proceedings.

The hearing of the cipher case has been adjourned till tomorrow (Friday).

What is ciphergate?

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan — less than a month before his ouster in April 2022 — while addressing a public rally waved a letter before the crowd, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to have PTI government overthrown.

He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor did he mention the name of the nation it came from. But a few days later, he accused the United States of conspiring against him and alleged that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal.

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Majeed's meeting with Lu.

The former prime minister, claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher, said that "all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power".

Then on March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) took up the matter and decided to issue a "strong demarche" to the US for its "blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan".

Later, after his removal, then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC, which came to the conclusion that it had found no evidence of a foreign conspiracy in the cable.

In the two audio leaks that took the internet by storm and shocked the public after these events, the former prime minister, then-federal minister Asad Umar, and then-principle secretary Azam could allegedly be heard discussing the US cipher and how to use it to their advantage.

On September 30, the federal cabinet took notice of the matter and constituted a committee to probe the contents of the audio leaks.

In October, the cabinet gave the green signal to initiate action against the former prime minister and handed over the case to the FIA.

Once FIA was given the task to probe the matter, it summoned Khan, Umar, and other leaders of the party, but the PTI chief challenged the summons and secured a stay order from the court.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), in July this year, recalled the stay order against the call-up notice to Khan by the FIA.