Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday in Cypher case were granted bail on 1M PKR surety.
In the recent legal update, the Pakistan Supreme Court granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday in a mysterious case, as per Dawn. The court instructed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders to submit surety bonds, each worth one million Pakistan Rupees (PKR).
A panel of three judges, led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and including Justices Athar Minallah and Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, issued the order after considering a series of petitions from PTI. The case revolves around a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claims was never returned by Imran. PTI argues that the document contained a threat from the United States to remove Imran as prime minister.
The Special Court, working under the Official Secrets Act, restarted the cypher trial at Adiala district jail last week after Imran and Qureshi faced a second indictment on December 13, as reported by Dawn. The trial faced hurdles when the Islamabad High Court scrapped proceedings due to an “erroneous” government notification for a jail trial. Although the IHC endorsed Imran’s indictment, it dismissed his plea and instructed the special court judge to ensure a “fair trial.”
Imran Khan, however, remains in jail due to multiple arrest warrants in various other cases. In a previous ruling in August, Prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison and fined ₹100,000 by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar. The judge found him guilty of graft in the Toshakhana case, involving the misuse of state gifts worth over ₹140 million (USD 490,000) received from foreign dignitaries during overseas visits, according to Geo News.
Recently, PTI sought post-arrest bail for former Prime minister Imran Khan in the Supreme Court, arguing against using bail as a form of punishment. The Supreme Court had earlier issued notices to the FIA and the federation, directing them to respond to the plea, as reported by Dawn.
The cypher case, initiated with an FIR filed on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act, brings forth serious allegations against ex-Prime minister Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The FIR, based on the Home Secretary’s complaint, also implicates former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar.
The report anticipates action against Azam Khan and Asad Umar, claiming their involvement in the misuse of classified documents. It alleges a coordinated conspiracy by Khan and Qureshi to exploit the diplomatic cypher’s contents for malicious purposes, putting state interests at risk.
The report further contends that the former prime minister directed Azam Khan, the then principal secretary, to “manipulate the contents of the cypher.” It states that Khan deliberately kept a copy of the diplomatic cypher sent to the PM office, according to ARY News.
