A Pakistan court on Monday indicted former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. Last year, Khan alleged that the US orchestrated a plan to remove him from office and brandished a cipher at a public rally to back his claims.
The case was heard at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran Khan is currently imprisoned. The Islamabad High Court has reserved its verdict on the ex-PM's plea seeking to quash the cipher case against him.
A court established under the Official Secrets Act had announced on October 9 that Imran Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi would be indicted in the cipher case on October 17 (Tuesday).
Imran Khan has moved the Islamabad High Court against the cipher case trial. He has been imprisoned since his conviction and three-year sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case, which was suspended by the IHC.
The case pertains to Imran Khan brandishing a document last year, claiming it has proof of US involvement behind his ouster. He and Qureshi are accused of misplacing and misusing the document for vested political interests.
Pakistan's top investigation agency declared Imran Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi guilty in the cipher case pertaining to alleged disclosure of state secrets. The chargesheet was rejected by Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The development comes after a joint committee in Pakistan found Imran Khan responsible in orchestrating the May 9 violent riots. The former PM's custody has been extended till October 10 in the cipher case.
The Lahore Police said that over “400 pieces of video evidence, including speeches of the PTI chairman, Imran Khan, proved that the attacks on military installations and premises in cantonment areas were pre-planned”.
Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were booked under the Official Secrets Act last month by the FIA for allegedly misplacing a classified document.
Mufti Saeed, the cleric who solemnised the couple's Islamic marriage in 2018, said in April that the wedding occurred during the iddat period of Bushra Bibi
Earlier in August, Khan was sent to jail after he was convicted in the Toshakhana case. Although he got bail, he was again arrested in the Cipher case.
The cases against former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and fake accounts cases against Zardari and Omni Group’s directors also stand revived.
In a statement, the election commission said that it reviewed work on delimiting constituencies and decided that the initial list for the delimitation of constituencies would be published on September 27.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, who has been hearing the cases related to the Official Secrets Act, 1923, conducted the proceedings inside the high security Attock Jail where the 70-year-old former prime minister is currently lodged.
Qureshi was arrested earlier this month in the probe against the cipher, which Imran Khan's party claims was used by the US to orchestrate his deposition from office last year.
The court had categorically mentioned that the embattled former premier would continue to remain in prison in a separate case related to the alleged disclosure of state secrets.
The order came hours after Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.
A trial court in Islamabad convicted and sentenced the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman to three years in prison on August 5.
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Earlier on August 5, a trial court in Islamabad had convicted him in the case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that involved concealing details of state gifts and jailed him for three years.
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