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ISLAMABAD: A special court constituted under the Official Secrets Act of 1923 extended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and his party vice-chief Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s judicial remand till September 26 in the cipher case.
“Imran Khan’s remand has been extended till September 26,” the former PM’s lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjutha, said after the special court hearing at the strongly fortified Attock Jail.
Khan and Qureshi, a former foreign minister, have been charged with making public the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable — known as a “cipher” — sent by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.
Khan had cited the cipher as proof of an attempt by the US to remove his government because he had visited Russia shortly before its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both Islamabad and Washington have denied his accusations. Khan’s party has challenged the trial of its leaders in the case.
On August 5, Khan was sent to jail for three years after his conviction in the Toshakhana (state treasure house) case for failing to declare gifts he had received while in office. His sentence, however, was suspended by the Islamabad high court on August 29, but the special court had directed the jail authorities to keep him in “judicial lockup” in connection with the cipher case.
The cipher controversy had surfaced just days before Khan’s ouster from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022 when he brandished a paper — claimed by him to be a letter from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington — stating that the US authorities wanted to topple his government.
In October 2022, the previous coalition government had agreed to initiate action against Imran in the cipher controversy and had handed over the case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The case against the former cricketer-turned-politician became serious after his principal secretary, Azam Khan, who went missing for a couple months, suddenly reappeared to make shocking revelations about the document. Azam Khan stated before a magistrate, as well as before the FIA, that the former PM had used the US cipher for “political gains” and to avert a no-trust vote against him.
The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the former PM with the cipher, he termed its language a “US blunder”. Imran Khan, according to Azam, then said that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against the establishment and the opposition”.
“Imran Khan’s remand has been extended till September 26,” the former PM’s lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjutha, said after the special court hearing at the strongly fortified Attock Jail.
Khan and Qureshi, a former foreign minister, have been charged with making public the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable — known as a “cipher” — sent by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.
Khan had cited the cipher as proof of an attempt by the US to remove his government because he had visited Russia shortly before its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both Islamabad and Washington have denied his accusations. Khan’s party has challenged the trial of its leaders in the case.
On August 5, Khan was sent to jail for three years after his conviction in the Toshakhana (state treasure house) case for failing to declare gifts he had received while in office. His sentence, however, was suspended by the Islamabad high court on August 29, but the special court had directed the jail authorities to keep him in “judicial lockup” in connection with the cipher case.
The cipher controversy had surfaced just days before Khan’s ouster from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022 when he brandished a paper — claimed by him to be a letter from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington — stating that the US authorities wanted to topple his government.
In October 2022, the previous coalition government had agreed to initiate action against Imran in the cipher controversy and had handed over the case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The case against the former cricketer-turned-politician became serious after his principal secretary, Azam Khan, who went missing for a couple months, suddenly reappeared to make shocking revelations about the document. Azam Khan stated before a magistrate, as well as before the FIA, that the former PM had used the US cipher for “political gains” and to avert a no-trust vote against him.
The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the former PM with the cipher, he termed its language a “US blunder”. Imran Khan, according to Azam, then said that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against the establishment and the opposition”.
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