The trial was conducted in unnecessary haste, even if the cross-examination is set aside, the evidence is insufficient to prove the case, Islamabad High Court
Daily Dawn Court Reporter + Dawn TV Report
Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court has issued a detailed decision to quash the conviction on the appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the case.
Former Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Aamir Farooq and former judge Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued a brief decision on June 3, 2024, accepting the appeal against the conviction of Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case.
The detailed decision in the cipher case consists of 24 pages, which states that the prosecution failed to prove the case against Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The verdict states that the record shows that the trial was conducted in unnecessary haste, the public prosecutor was appointed after the accused’s lawyers requested an adjournment, and the public prosecutor was given only one day to prepare.
The verdict states that the cross-examination of the public prosecutor shows his inexperience and lack of time, this case is of the nature of remanding back to the trial court, and the court is hearing the case on merit.
The verdict further states that even if the cross-examination is set aside, the prosecution’s evidence is insufficient to prove the case, and the prosecution has completely failed to prove its case.
Cipher Case
The Cipher Case was related to a diplomatic document that allegedly disappeared from Imran Khan’s possession. PTI alleges that the cipher contained a threat from the US to remove Imran Khan from power.
In the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the FIA, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was named and a case was registered under Sections 5 (misuse of information) and 9 of the Official Secrets Act along with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
In the FIR, the then Foreign Secretary received a diplomatic cipher from Washington on March 7, 2022. On October 5, 2022, a case was registered in the FIA’s Counter-Terrorism Department, accusing former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar and their aides of distorting the facts of the information contained in the cipher and endangering national security and attempting to achieve personal gain.
The case stated that former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and their aides were involved in providing information from a classified document to unauthorized persons.
Regarding the cipher, it was said that ‘they held a secret meeting on March 28, 2022, at Bani Gala (Imran Khan’s residence) to misuse the details of the cipher to achieve their nefarious purpose and prepare a conspiracy’.
The case said that ‘accused Imran Khan, with the wrong intention, directed his then Principal Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan to prepare minutes by changing the text of the cipher in this secret meeting for his benefit at the cost of national security’.
The FIR alleged that the copy of the cipher sent to the Prime Minister’s Office was deliberately kept by the then Prime Minister Imran Khan with wrong intention and never returned it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It was further stated that ‘the said cipher (classified secret document) is still illegally in the possession of Imran Khan, the unauthorized acquisition and misuse of the cipher telegram by the designated person has compromised the entire cipher security system of the state and the secret messaging mechanism of Pakistani missions abroad’.
The FIR stated that ‘the actions of the accused directly or indirectly benefited external powers and caused damage to the state of Pakistan.
The case filed with the FIA further stated that ‘the competent authority has approved the registration of the case, therefore, a case has been registered at the FIA Anti-Terrorism Wing Islamabad Police Station under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act along with Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for misuse of official secret information and illegal acquisition of cipher telegram (official secret document) with malice. The role of Azam Khan as Principal Secretary, former Federal Minister Asad Umar and other involved aides will be determined during the investigation.’
Leave a Reply