Former prime minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has made the decision to contest the ongoing proceedings of the cipher case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). PTI’s Chairman, Barrister Gohar, conveyed that they will file a challenge in the IHC and seek an early hearing from the Chief Justice.
It’s important to note that the cipher case is currently being heard in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. Additionally, there is a potential likelihood that the proceedings related to the Toshakhana National Accountability Bureau case will also be contested in the High Court.
Cipher case
In the Cipher Case, a case has been registered against the former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister under sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with section 34 of the PPC. They are accused of wrongfully communicating and using official secret information and illegally retaining a cipher telegram (an official secret document) with malicious intent.
The former PM’s aide Muhammad Azam Khan, former federal minister Asad Umar, and other associates’ roles will be determined during the investigations. The allegations state that Imran, Qureshi, and their associates communicated information from a secret classified document (cipher telegram received from Parep Washington dated March 7, 2022, to the Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to unauthorized persons, twisting facts to achieve personal gains in a manner prejudicial to state security.
A clandestine meeting allegedly took place at Banigala on March 28, 2022, where they conspired to misuse the cipher contents for nefarious designs. Imran, allegedly with malicious intent, directed the former principal secretary Azam Khan to prepare the minutes of the meeting by manipulating the cipher message’s contents for his vested interest at the expense of national safety.
The numbered and accountable copy of the cipher telegram sent to the PM Office was deliberately kept in the former PM’s custody and was never returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The accused Imran still illegally possesses and retains the cipher telegram, compromising the entire cipher security system and the secret communication method of Pakistani missions abroad.
