Cipher case: Imran, Qureshi to be indicted today

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act will indict former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in cipher case on Wednesday (today).

Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain was hearing the case in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, where the two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have been incarcerated in the case.

Tuesday’s hearing was attended by family members of the PTI leaders. The FIA’s special prosecutors Shah Khawar and Zulfikar Abbas Naqvi were also present in the courtroom while Barrister Salman Safdar appeared as Imran’s counsel and Barrister Taimur Malik as Qureshi’s lawyer.

A few reporters were allowed inside the courtroom to witness the proceedings.

As the hearing began, the PTI lawyers submitted six separate petitions in the court pertaining to incomplete documents in the case challan, media access and jail trial notification. They contended that a selected number of media persons were allowed to attend the hearing while a majority of journalists were waiting outside the Adiala Jail.

The judge remarked that the matter was an “administrative issue” and would be seen by the court. “We have given relief by going out of the way,” he added.

Meanwhile, Safdar argued that the proceedings were being conducted in a “hasty manner”, adding that the PTI had challenged two verdicts issued under the Official Secrets Act in the IHC. However, the FIA prosecutor highlighted that the high court had not stopped the special court from conducting the proceedings. He also urged the court to complete the indictment process.

Judge Zulqarnain said he would take all the decisions on the basis of merit, adding that he was hearing the case neutrally.

PTI lawyer Usman Gul also raised concerns related to incomplete documents in the case record, to which the judge asked why he had not pointed out the same previously. The hearing was subsequently adjourned and the court declared Dec 13 as the date for the PTI leaders’ indictment.