Cipher case: Sentence, acquittal to be treated separately as per miscellaneous charges: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) observed that the sentence and acquittal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be treated separately in accordance with the miscellaneous charges in the cipher case.

A two-member bench of the IHC — comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb — heard the appeals against the conviction of both PTI politicians in the cipher case on Monday.

The former prime minister and the former foreign minister had been sentenced in the said case on January 30 earlier this year.

At the outset of the hearing, defence lawyer Latif Khosa told the IHC chief justice that the hearing of bail petitions in the £190m NCA scandal case was still pending.

To this, CJ Farooq remarked that he would fix the hearing on May 8 as the previous cause list of the regular was suspended owing to his unwellness. He added that he was not in good health today but conducting today’s hearing due to the importance of the cipher case.

The prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Hamid Ali Shah also appeared in the hearing. He apprised the high court bench that all cipher telegrams with “classified stamp” are disposed of after six months, even if these are “declassified”.

The National Security Committee (NSC) had decided to demarche on March 31, which marked the completion of the prescribed procedure for the classified document, except for sending back its copies to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hamid said.

He apprised the court that all cipher copies had been sent back to the foreign ministry, except the one with the former prime minister Khan. Later, the foreign office disposed of all copies of the classified telegram, he added.

“Can an accused be defended in the absence of a defence lawyer or it would lessen the importance of the defendant’s testimony?” questioned CJ Farooq.

The FIA prosecutor replied that there was no need to ensure the defence lawyer’s presence during a testimony under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The IHC CJ also questioned the legality of the sentence on both charges of “willful” and “negligent” loss of the classified document.

The FIA prosecutor defended the outcome as both charges would be imposed on the accused persons’ moves on separate occasions.

He went on the say that the diplomatic cable cannot be taken away from its dedicated place as the authorities need to make special security arrangements for the container where the cipher is placed.

Justice Aurangzeb questioned whether ex-PM Khan’s principal secretary Azam Khan personally signed the confirmation receipt after receiving the classified document.

To this, the prosecutor replied that Azam’s staff had received the cipher’s copy and later, he handed over the same copy to the former premier.

Hamid told the IHC that he will conclude his arguments this week.

The high court observed that the case outcomes should be treated separately, if the defendant is acquitted or penalised in one scenario then it should be meant to be fully acquittal or penalised in other scenarios.

Later, the IHC adjourned the hearing till Wednesday, May 8.

Ex-PM Khan cases

Khan, the deposed prime minister, was ousted from power via the opposition's no-confidence motion in April 2022. However, the PTI alleged that Imran Khan's removal was orchestrated by the United States by supporting the opposition's no-trust motion.

The PTI founder was arrested in August last year after he was sentenced in the Toshakhana case. Later, he was convicted in cipher and un-Islamic marriage cases as well wherein his appeals are currently pending before the respective courts.

In April, the IHC suspended Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi 14-year sentences in the Toshakhana reference and fixed the hearing for the main appeal against conviction after the Eid holidays.

However, Khan remains behind bars as he has been booked in a range of other cases containing criminal charges including violating the Official Secrets Act, terrorism, corruption and others.