IHC Clears Imran and Qureshi of Charges in Cypher Case
On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan and PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Cypher case.
The court suspended their 10-year sentences while hearing the appeal by the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi against their conviction.
On January 30, a special court established under the Official Secrets Act had sentenced Imran and Qureshi to 10 years in prison in the high-profile Cypher case.
On March 19, the IHC noted that the speeches delivered by Imran and Qureshi at a public rally in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, “appear to be political in nature.”
A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the appeals.
The PTI’s lawyer informed the court that Imran and Qureshi were accused of illegally possessing a secret document, disclosing classified information to the public, and manipulating it for personal gain. However, the special court judge who convicted the PTI leaders had not seen the diplomatic cypher in question.
Chief Justice Farooq remarked, “If the information has been twisted, then it should be known what the information was.”
Barrister Safdar stated that the PTI leaders were accused of holding and misusing classified information for their purposes. However, the prosecution failed to link the alleged crime with revealing secrets concerning the armed forces and sensitive areas to foreign powers.
Justice Aurangzeb inquired, “What was written in the cypher?”
The lawyer replied, “I haven’t seen the cypher, so I can’t tell what is written in it.” He said the cypher code or its text has not been shared anywhere.
“On one hand, it is said that the PTI founder has made everything public; on the other hand, it is said that if the cypher is shown, it will become public.”
The court asked what was communicated from Washington in the cypher. It said the person who had sent that communication must have pinpointed what might compromise security if it fell into the hands of India. The bench noted there was nothing unusual in the information shared with the court.
The FIA prosecutor reminded the court that they were awaiting permission to present arguments against the maintainability of the appeal.
The bench noted that it would deliver a verdict on the merit of the appeals as well as their maintainability at the same time.
At the next hearing, Imran Khan’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, contended before the IHC that registering the cypher case only against his client was an ‘act of retaliation’ as others had not returned the copies of the diplomatic cable until it was filed.
Safdar maintained that the requirements of a fair trial under Article 10A had not been fulfilled. The lawyer told the court that the diplomatic cable was not shown to the investigation officer (IO), terming it ‘secret.’
The bench observed that the judge could have ordered under the Official Secrets Act that the document should be shown after removing all people from the courtroom.
**The Cypher Case**
The case originated from Imran’s public display of a paper during a rally in Islamabad on March 27, 2022, claiming it as evidence of an “international conspiracy” before a vote of no-confidence led to his government’s ouster.
The FIA initiated its probe into the so-called “cypher-gate” on July 19, 2023, after the previous coalition government announced an official inquiry against Imran and his close associates for violating the OSA.
Imran was arrested on August 5, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case by a local court in Islamabad. Later, he was also arrested in the cypher case on August 29.
As per the charge sheets, both Imran and Qureshi were charged under sections 5 and 9 of the OSA, which entail the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Previously, the cypher trial had started inside the Adiala jail, but an IHC division bench later annulled all those proceedings, ordering a fresh open court trial.