A special court formed under the Official Secrets Act has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case on October 4, Pakistan- grounded Geo News reported. The judge has ordered the Adiala jail supervisor to produce Mr Khan and Mr Qureshi before the court on October 4. Special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain issued notices to repliers and said that statements of substantiations were sufficient to summon the indicted to the court.
The development comes two days after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted the challan (charge distance) in the cipher case against the two leaders. In its challan, the FIA stated that Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were set up shamefaced in the matter and requested the court to carry out their trial and doom them in the case.
The sources revealed that former PTI clerk-general Asad Umar’s name has not been included in the list of indicted. likewise, Imran Khan’s former star clerk Azam Khan has been named as a” strong substantiation” in the case, according to a Geo News report.
The FIA has also attached the statements of Azam Khan, recorded under Sections 161 and 164, along with the challan, according to sources. The sources said that former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has kept the cipher to himself and misused the state secret, Geo News reported.
According to sources, Mr Khan had a dupe of the cipher. still, he didn’t return it. The agency has also attached the paraphrase of Mr Khan and Mr Qureshi’s speech that he made on March 27, 2022, when the former Pakistan PM brandished a letter claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation, that wanted his government to be removed from power.
The FIA also submitted a list of 28 substantiations to the court with the challan after recording their statements. According to sources, the names of former foreign registers Asad Majeed, Sohail Mehmood, and the also fresh foreign clerk Faisal Niaz Tirmizi have also been included in the list of substantiations.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday rejected a challan submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and called for the conformation of a judicial commission to probe the cipher case, Pakistan- grounded ARY News reported.
In a statement issued on September 30, the PTI prophet called the challan submitted against PTI president Imran Khan and vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi” pointless and bogus as cipher case,” ARY News reported.
The special court on September 26 extended the judicial remand of the PTI president andvice-chairman till October 10 in the cipher case.
The contestation regarding the cipher started on March 27, 2022, when Imran Khan before his ouster while addressing a public rally gestured a letter before the crowd, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to remove his government.
PTI president didn’t speak about what was mentioned in the letter or the name of the nation it came from. A many days latterly, he indicted the United States of conspiring against him and contended that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his junking.
Mr Khan claimed that he was reading content from the cipher and said that “all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power.” On March 31, the National Security Committee (NSC) decided to issue a” strong demarche” to the US for its” blatant hindrance in the internal affairs of Pakistan”.
After Imran Khan’s junking, Pakistan’s also- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the NSC and concluded that it had set up no substantiation regarding a foreign conspiracy in the string, Geo News reported.
