In a historic judgment, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were acquitted in a high-profile cipher case on Friday by an Islamabad High Court (IHC). IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the judgment.

The Cipher Case: Background and Legal Battle:

The issue concerns a diplomatic paper that Imran Khan revealed as Prime Minister. A federal request accused Imran of not returning the document, which was addressed to a security audience of only nine people. Imran claimed that the document disclosed a statement from the US to oust Imran’s government.

Here’s a timeline of key events in the cipher case:

1.First Verdict (January 2024): A special court under the Official Secrets Act sentenced Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi to 10 years in jail, ruling that they had concealed the secret document, leaked classified information into the public domain, and debased it through a personal vendetta.

2. IHC Reserve Verdict (May 2024)The IHC reserved judgment on the appeals against their conviction filed by Imran and Qureshi. Lawyers for both leaders asked for the convictions to be overturned, arguing that the case lacked strong evidence and that there were procedural errors during the trial. 3.Exoneration (June 2024): On 30 June 2024, the IHC quashed the trial against both Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi and made their sentences null and void. Even now that they have been exonerated in the cipher case, neither of the two leaders will walk out of prison immediately. Imran will remain in prison since he is now serving his sentence in the Iddat case. Qureshi will remain in jail due to other charges in relation to the May 9 dereliction.

Read from here about bushra bibi iddat case:

https://whatshappening.pk/the-iddat-case-impasse-a-judicial-quandary/

Legal Arguments and Witness Testimonies

In court, the defence emphasised both lack of evidence and procedural errors. Imran perhaps still spent a night in a cell before the conviction was overturned. Essentially, his lawyer noted that the code or text of the crypter had not been produced anywhere and that there was no proof offered of the crime of disclosing secrets related to the armed forces and sensitive areas to a foreign power.

Witness testimonies played a crucial role in the case:

Azam Khan (Former Principal Secretary): He said that the cipher was never sent back to his office and he had also kept on writing to the PM and senior officers about it.

Sohail Mehmood (Former Foreign Secretary): He [the ex-PM] had never returned the copy that was handed over to him. Qureshi: I had returned it to the Ministry.

Conclusion

The acquittal in the cipher case provides relief to Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi – they are still serving arrest warrants against the two Pakistanis who bribed an American lobbyist for help in getting the award – but their legal journeys are not over yet. As the dust settles on the prosecutions, there are lessons to be learnt on the handling of classified state information, and the lines between transparency and secrecy reinforced through the cipher case.

Stay tuned for further developments as the legal saga unfolds.

Source:https://www.samaa.tv/