Despite the acquittal, Khan will remain in prison, having also been convicted in another case relating to his marriage to his third wife, Bushra Bibi, contravening Islamic traditions.
Imran was booked in multiple cases related to the violence on May 9, although the former PM maintains he was illegally arrested from Islamabad High Court. He and Qureshi were indicted on February 6 and were produced to the court, where Imran rejected all allegations against him.
A report said that high-profile prisoners could not be kept in jail factories, kitchens, hospitals, gardens, etc, among ordinary inmates. Therefore, both Imran Khan and Qureshi will be kept there in their compound for maintenance work or any other task assigned by the jail administration.
Imran and Qureshi were first indicted in the case in October, but the Islamabad High Court scrapped the proceedings citing "errors". The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document brandished by Imran who claimed that it had proof of US involvement behind his ouster in 2022.
Qureshi, along with Imran, was imprisoned in Adiala Jail in the cipher case and both secured bail last week as the Supreme Court accepted their pleas. However, Qureshi was detained and re-arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, which grants powers of preventative detention.
Qureshi, along with Imran, is imprisoned in Adiala jail in the cipher case and was expected to be released today after getting bail. However, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema issued an order for the ex-foreign minister's 15-day detention before his release order.
The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) began the cipher trial afresh last week at the Adiala jail after Imran and Qureshi were indicted for a second time in the case on December 13. Despite this slight relief, the former PM still remains behind bars amid slim chances of contesting elections.
Imran Khan and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi were indicted in the cipher case by a special court on October 23, although both of them denied the charges. Last year, the former Pakistan PM brandished a 'cipher' alleging the US of orchestrating the fall of his government.
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.
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.
Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were booked under the Official Secrets Act last month by the FIA for allegedly misplacing a classified document.
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.
Pakistan: Imran Khan said We are now being governed by law of the jungle, might is right and the only thing standing in its way is our judiciary.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was faced with an awkward moment during an interview after he was questioned about Prime Minister Imran Khan's remark calling Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden a martyr. Qureshi, as blank as his face was, didn't know how to respond.
2016's surgical strike continues to haunt Pakistan. Pakistan has claimed that "India is planning surgical strike to divert attention from its 'domestic troubles'".
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he has 'credible' information that India was planning another surgical strike.
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