Imran, Qureshi indicted in cipher case — again

ISLAMABAD: PTI ex-chairman Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted, once again, in the cipher case here on Wednesday.

Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain conducted the proceedings in the Adiala Jail and issued the verdict. Both the accused pleaded not guilty. This is the second time that the PTI leaders have been indicted. Further proceedings of the case were adjourned till Thursday (today).

FIA Special Prosecutors Shah Khawar and Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi appeared in the court, while Khan and Qureshi were represented by Usman Gul and Barrister Taimur Malik, respectively. Following Khan and Qureshi’s indictment, the regular trial will begin in the jail. The accused allegedly violated the Official Secrets Act and waved the classified document in a public rally on March 27, 2022, as per the charge sheet.

They deliberately used the cipher for personal gains damaging national identity, security, and foreign affairs, the charges stated. “As prime minister, you had the cipher, which was not returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” one of the charges says.

Upon hearing the indictment, Shah Mahmood Qureshi denied the charges outright. Imran Khan, meanwhile, had had a dialogue with the judge claiming that he had exposed the national and foreign establishment and that this “cruelty” should also be included as his crime.

The former prime minister went on to say, on the one hand, the PTI government was overthrown and, on the other hand, they were accused of the crime. “How is it possible that someone whose government has been overthrown is also the accused?” Imran Khan questioned. He further charged that this entire “drama” was being staged to save certain holy cows. The PTI chief said that he was “not afraid of the death penalty”. He insisted that the cipher was written to topple his government. “There is a conspiracy within the cipher which is being hidden,” he said. “How can there be a fair trial when the media is being muzzled? If a fair trial is not conducted, the responsibility will lie with you for the rest of your life.”

The court reprimanded the former prime minister, saying he should not say incorrect things and that his tone was inappropriate and reminded him that he was in a court of law. It silenced Imran Khan for speaking repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar argued that the proceedings were being conducted in a “hasty manner”, adding 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 based on merit, adding that he was hearing the case impartially.

Meanwhile, an accountability court rejected the pre-arrest bail of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case after finding him guilty of corrupt practices and awarding him a three-year prison sentence. In his verdict, Judge Muhammad Bashir said the accused had been found guilty of corrupt practices and handed a three-year sentence. Imran Khan deliberately submitted fake details of Toshakhana gifts to the ECP and was found guilty of corrupt practices, the order said. The court announced the verdict on the former premier’s plea that it had earlier reserved. The order said that irregularities were found during the investigation and ordered the PTI chairman to be further interrogated in prison.

Following the order, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested the former prime minister, who is already imprisoned in the cipher case. Deputy Prosecutor NAB Sardar Mazhar Abbasi said the bureau would obtain physical remand of Imran Khan in the case on Thursday (today). Imran’s counsel Naeem Haider Panjotha complained about dismissing the bail plea at 8pm, terming it a “spectacle”.

Online adds: The district and sessions court, Islamabad, issued a written order on the maintainability of non-Shariah Nikah case involving the PTI former chairman Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. Senior Civil Judge Qudrat Ullah issued a four-page written order.

The order said according to Khawar Manika, former husband of Bushra Bibi, illicit relations between Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were established over time. The order said according to the record, Khawar Manika complained to the court, alleging that Imran established contacts with Bushra Bibi in the guise of “Peeri Mureedi” and later developed illicit relations with her.

The order said Khawar Manika divorced Bushra Bibi in November 2017 on the basis of these relations. Bushra Bibi and Imran solemnized the Nikah before the expiry of iddat. The order said the statements of witnesses, Mufti Saeed, Aun Chaudhry and Muhammad Latif, supported these allegations.

Referring to the statement of witnesses, the order said former chairman PTI and Bushra Bibi prima facie had committed a crime and hence proper ground was there for the commencement of the trial. The court admitted Manika’s complaint for hearing on December 14.