Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging his indictment in the cipher case by Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain. Imran Khan, who is also the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, submitted the petition through his counsels Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousaf, urging the IHC to declare his indictment null and void due to procedural lapses.
In this ongoing case, the special court, formed under the Official Secrets Act, indicted Imran Khan and his deputy, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in the cipher case. The charges against them include violating the secret law by allegedly misusing and misplacing diplomatic cables containing conversations between Pakistan’s envoy to Washington and a US diplomat during Khan’s government’s tenure last year.
The petition argued that the charges should only be framed seven days after the distribution of challan copies, and the trial court did not adhere to this legal requirement. It contended that the special court rushed the indictment process and was eager to proceed with hasty trial proceedings. The petition also pointed out that the IHC had not issued any direction to the special court to conduct daily proceedings and expedite the trial, emphasizing that hasty proceedings could impact fundamental constitutional rights.
The petition further argued that the trial could not proceed in the absence of the main evidence, the cipher. Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi are currently in Adiala jail on judicial remand in the cipher case. Imran Khan was arrested under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case, leading to his detention on August 5, 2023. Although the IHC suspended the Toshakhana case sentence on August 29, he remains in custody due to his arrest in the cipher case.
The case revolves around allegations that Imran Khan possessed and misused a diplomatic cipher for political gain, including making accusations of foreign conspiracies against his government. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a charge sheet, naming Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi as accused and including a list of witnesses and evidence in the case. Both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi pleaded not guilty.